A suspect in a stolen car was arrested with a syringe loaded with methamphetamine in Wildwood.
Officers were investigating a report of shots fired at about 7:15 a.m. Wednesday in the area of Fifth Street when a white Nissan Sentra believed to have been involved in the shooting fled the scene, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department.
The Nissan Sentra, which a woman had reported as stolen from Leesburg, was spotted by officers at Dev’s Discount Beverage on Main Street. The driver was identified as 30-year-old Joshua Avant of Wildwood. A syringe containing methamphetamine was found in the vehicle. Avant denied it belonged to him.
Avant “was obviously under the influence of methamphetamine as well as admitted to using marijuana just prior to law enforcement coming into contact,” the arresting officer wrote in the report.
Avant admitted he had taken the woman’s vehicle “without the permission of the owner and she was very upset,” the report said.
He was arrested on charges of vehicle theft and possession of methamphetamine. He was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center on $1,500 bond.