A Villager once accused of burglarizing a dead man’s home in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown found himself behind bars Tuesday night after being arrested in Summerfield.
Marion County sheriff’s deputies were called to the 13800 block of SE 41st Court after receiving reports of a strange vehicle in the area. When they arrived, they spotted a blue Ford hatchback and saw 52-year-old Mark Christopher Davis exit the vehicle.
Davis immediately opened the hood and claimed his car was broken down, even though it was running. A deputy then spotted a white crystal-like substance and aluminum foil on Davis’ passenger seat and while he was being handcuffed, he dropped the cap to a hypodermic needle, a sheriff’s office report states.
A deputy searched Davis’ vehicle and found two metal spoons with a white residue on them, an uncapped hypodermic needle under the driver’s seat and a capped syringe in the owner’s manual, which also was on the passenger seat, the report says, adding that the crystal-like substance tested positive for methamphetamine.
After being read his rights, Davis claimed the needles didn’t belong to him. He also said he suspected the crystal-like substance was methamphetamine but he wasn’t sure so he tasted it, the report says.
Davis, who lives at 2268 Margarita Drive in the Village of Santo Domingo, was arrested and transported to the Marion County Jail, where he was charged with possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was released early Wednesday morning on $3,000 bond and his next court date hasn’t yet been set.
Davis was arrested in October 2018 and charged with burglarizing a dead Villager’s home after taking advantage of a key entrusted to his parents. The man’s daughter had contacted the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office after she discovered about $3,000 worth of items – a Garmin GPS, silverware, a set of golf clubs, a television sound bar, 20 Oxycodone pills and a Knights of Columbus sword – were missing from the home.
Davis was charged with grand theft and burglary but in December 2018 in Sumter County Court, the prosecutor’s office announced no information would be filed in the case. State Attorney Brad King indicated that he determined, “Evidence legally insufficient to prove guilt.”
