A Leesburg man was jailed Thursday night after being stopped because his license tag light wasn’t working.
A Fruitland Park Police officer stopped a Gold Chevrolet Impala that was being driven by 46-year-old Derek Lee Stokes in the area of County Road 466A and Cutoff Road. Another officer requested permission to search the vehicle, which Stokes granted, a police report states.
During the search, officers found a syringe containing a liquid underneath the driver’s seat. An officer asked Stokes if he was diabetic and he said he was, but later said it was his mother who was the diabetic. He then claimed his mother had left the syringe under the seat so she “would not get in trouble,” the report says.
After the substance in the syringe tested positive for methamphetamine, Stokes was placed under arrest and transported to the Lake County Jail, where he was charged with possession of a controlled substance without a prescription (methamphetamine) and possession and/or use of drug equipment. He was being held on $3,000 bond and is due in court March 2 at 8:30 a.m. to answer to the charge.