A homeless pair wound up behind bars on drug charges after they were found to be in possession of drugs during a disturbance in Lady Lake.
An officer responded to an alleged battery in the 600 block of First Avenue at 6:25 p.m. Sunday, according to an arrest report from the Lady Lake Police Department.
Upon arrival, the officer spoke with the complainant who described 39-year-old Amber Nichole Morales and 31-year-old Louis Shane McCormick. She then pointed across the highway to where she saw the altercation. The officer encountered the two suspects across the street at 714 S. U.S. Hwy. 27/441, and both confirmed there was no battery, the report said.
Morales had two bags in her possession while McCormick had a black jacket, which they confirmed were theirs, respectively. Morales denied consent for the officer to search her bags. This led to a K-9 unit responding to sniff her belongings, and a positive alert to the presence of narcotics allowed for a search of both suspects, the report said.
During the search of Morales’ belongings, a clear pipe with white powdery residue was found in a clear bag wrapped in a Jesus pamphlet. The residue tested positive for the presence of fentanyl. There was also a small clear container with several yellow oval-shaped pills, later found to be gabapentin. Morales also admitted they were gabapentin pills, the report said.
A search of McCormick’s jacket revealed a clear glass vial containing a crystalline substance. This tested positive for the presence of methamphetamine, the report said.
Morales was arrested and charged with possession of gabapentin and drug paraphernalia. She was transported to Lake County Jail with bond set at $3,500. She was also arrested in November 2023 for pills found in her backpack and in February 2024 for having heroin in her pocket.
McCormick was arrested and charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. He was taken to jail with bond set at $1,000. He was also arrested in September 2016 after staring at a woman’s 17-year-old daughter and in July 2017 for possessing methamphetamine and a hypodermic needle.