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The Villages
Friday, March 29, 2024

Summerfield man nabbed on hefty drug charges after slow-speed pursuit

John Ernest Schnee Jr.

A Summerfield man was jailed early Monday morning after a slow-speed chase that ended in front of his residence.

A Marion County sheriff’s deputy was on patrol at 2:28 a.m. when he spotted a silver 2010 4-door Dodge traveling west on Sunset Harbor Road. A records check showed the license tag on the vehicle was assigned to a blue 2013 Hyundai, so the deputy attempted a traffic stop by activating his emergency lights.

The vehicle, driven by 31-year-old John Ernest Schnee Jr., turned onto SE 91st Avenue and headed northbound at a slow rate of speed. The deputy activated his siren but Schnee turned onto SE 146th Street and headed west. Schnee eventually turned onto SE 90th Terrace and traveled south before stopping in front of his residence, a sheriff’s office report states.

Schnee originally didn’t comply with the deputy’s commands but eventually did as he was told. He was detained, placed in handcuffs and put in the rear seat of a patrol vehicle.

A records check shows that Schnee’s driver’s license had two active suspensions, both on April 1, for failure to pay a court financial obligation with notice given on March 12. A records check of the vehicle’s VIN number showed the registration had been canceled.

The deputy searched Schnee and discovered in his left pants pocket a syringe containing a small amount of a dark red liquid that later tested positive for methamphetamine. The deputy reported feeling a hard object between Schnee’s legs that he said was his marijuana pipe. The deputy removed it from within Schnee’s shorts and discovered residue on one end of the pipe. The deputy also reported smelling marijuana emitting from Schnee, who admitted the drug was inside his vehicle, the report says.

The deputy observed a small amount of marijuana in the driver’s door handle and two scales on the front passenger seat, one of which had a green and powdery residue on it. During a search of Schnee’s vehicle, the deputy found a small, clear plastic baggie containing a small amount of a substance that field tested positive for marijuana, the report says.

Deputies discovered a black backpack in the back seat that contained a baggie with a small amount of a hard, crystal-like substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine. Deputies also found a substance underneath the driver’s seat that also tested positive for methamphetamine, the report says.

After being read his rights, Schnee refused to claim ownership of any of the items that were found in the vehicle. Prior to transporting him to the jail, deputies searched Schnee again and lose particles of the same substance fell from within his shorts to the ground. Small amounts of the substance also were found in the back seat of the patrol vehicle, the report says.

Deputies also found small chunks of a wet white substance in the back seat. They searched the inside of Schnee’s mouth and found a chewed-up blue baggie. But Schnee wouldn’t admit what was inside the baggie, the report says.
Schnee was transported to AdventHealth Ocala for treatment for the unknown substance he had ingested. While being transported to the jail, he became belligerent and took off his hospital gown. It became wrapped around his handcuffs, which were in front of him.

Once inside the jail booking area as a detention deputy was removing his handcuffs, Schnee dropped two baggies containing substances that tested positive for methamphetamine and heroin. The total weight of the baggie containing the methamphetamine was 20.5 grams, while the baggie containing the heroin weighed 21.2 grams, the report says.

Schnee was charged with trafficking methamphetamine (14 grams or more), possession of marijuana (not more than 20 grams), possession of drug equipment, knowingly driving while license suspended or revoked, failing to register a motor vehicle, trafficking heroin (four grams to under 30 kilograms) and smuggling contraband into a detention facility. He was being held on $55,000 bond and is due in court June 23 at 9 a.m.

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