A Summerfield man said the cocaine in his possession during a traffic stop Wednesday night didn’t belong to him and that he found it on the ground.
A Marion County sheriff’s deputy observed a gold Mercury traveling west on South Highway 484 near South Magnolia Avenue in Ocala without a license tag and conducted a traffic stop. The driver – 49-year-old David Smith Jr., of 14128 SE 45th Court – told the deputy he didn’t have a valid license and the vehicle was not registered according to the sheriff’s office report.
The deputy asked Smith to empty his pockets, and when he did, the deputy observed a small clear bag containing a white powdery substance emerge from Smith’s front-left pants pocket. Asked what was in the baggie, Smith said it was cocaine. He said he found it earlier on the ground and picked it up. Smith said he does use cocaine, but the baggie was not his, the report said.
The white powdery substance field tested positive for cocaine, while a records search confirmed Smith’s license was suspended and the vehicle he was driving was not registered. Smith was charged with possession of cocaine, driving with a suspended license (third or subsequent offense) and failure to register a motor vehicle, according to the report.
Smith taken to the Marion County Jail, where he was being held Sunday on $7,500 bond. He will appear in Marion County Court on Oct. 20.