An Ocala couple was arrested early Sunday morning on drug charges after Marion County deputies spotted their vehicle illegally parked in a handicapped space.
When deputies approached the black Dodge Charger outside the Circle K, located at 6820 SE Maricamp Rd., they made contact with 31-year-old Ashley Nicole Grossman, who was sitting in the driver’s seat. While speaking with her, they smelled the odor of marijuana coming from the car so they detained her in the back of a patrol car, a sheriff’s office report states.
Deputies found a cigarette in a small plastic bag that was located in the CD slot in the dashboard of the vehicle. The cigarette contained a green leafy substance that field tested positive for marijuana, the report says.
A short time later, Grossman’s boyfriend, 31-year-old Efrain Samuel Rosado Rosado, came out of the Circle K and admitted the marijuana cigarette was his, the report says.
Deputies then removed Grossman from the back of the patrol car and noticed that she began “to stumble and lose balance.” She also slurred her words, which caused deputies to initiate a DUI investigation.
Grossman failed all four DUI field exercises, and while performing one where she was required to walk a straight line and turn around, a cigarette that later tested positive for marijuana fell out of her pants leg, the report says.
Both Grossman and Rosado were transported to the Marion County Jail. Deputies didn’t believe Grossman was under the influence of alcohol, so they asked her to give a urine sample. She refused and when notified of the conditions of implied consent by being issued a driver’s license, she continued to refuse and stated, “(Expletive deleted) the license.”
Grossman, who has been in the Marion County Jail five times since April 2005, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and possession of marijuana not more than 20 grams. She also was issued citations for DUI and parking in a handicapped space. She was released shortly before 9 p.m. Sunday on $2,000 bond.
Rosado was charged with possession of marijuana not more than 20 grams and released on $1,000 bond shortly after 10 p.m. Sunday.