A shopper was arrested after parking in a handicapped spot at Walmart.
A white Chevrolet Malibu had been reported for reckless driving on Thursday night and was found in the handicapped spot at Walmart in Summerfield, according to an arrest report from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy noted the vehicle did not have a handicapped license plate and it did not have a placard hanging from the rearview mirror. The deputy also spotted a marijuana bud in the car.
A short time later, the vehicle’s owner, 36-year-old James Matthew Johnson of Summerfield, came walking out of the store and headed for the car. The deputy asked him if he had a handicapped placard ord if he was handicapped. He admitted he was not handicapped.
A clear organizer box was found on the passenger seat of the vehicle. The box contained “numerous individually-packaged substances” including pills identified as alprazolam and hydrocodone. He did not have a prescription for the pills. Other drugs found by the deputy included cocaine, fentanyl, marijuana and methamphetamine. Ammunition and drug paraphernalia were also found in the car.
Johnson is a convicted felon and not allowed to possess ammunition. He was placed on federal felony probation in 2023 and it is scheduled to end in 2026.
He was arrested on numerous drug charges as well as a charge of unlawful possession of ammunition by a felon. He was booked without bond at the Marion County Jail.
