A resident of The Villages was arrested on drug charges after allegedly buying crack from a dealer in an area known for narcotic sales.
An officer observed 60-year-old Joseph Antonio Benincase of the Village of Duval in a red Dodge SUV in the parking lot of Tyler’s Family Mart, located at 2201 Griffin Road, at 9:30 p.m. Monday, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department. This was a well-known area for narcotics sales and transactions.
A subject on a bicycle later approached Benincase. The officer saw what looked like a hand-to-hand narcotics transaction taking place between the two. The cyclist then left the location and headed south on Tuskegee Street, the report said.
The officer subsequently made contact with Benincase who was outside of his vehicle at the time. The officer explained his reasons for speaking with Benincase, to which he began taking items out of his pockets stating he was not in possession of any illegal contraband. While doing this, the officer noticed the imprint of a small zip top baggie in his shirt pocket, consistent with narcotics sales, the report said.
The baggie was confirmed to be a small zip top baggie containing a single chunk of a white cake-like substance. The substance later tested positive for cocaine and weighed 0.6 grams. Benincase was also later found to have a glass crack pipe in his shoe, the report said.
After being read his rights, Benincase admitted to making plans with a local drug dealer to buy crack cocaine at the mart. The dealer had him go to the parking lot where he sent another person to bring him $30 worth of crack cocaine. Benincase had done this similar arrangement numerous times in the past, and random people came to deliver the narcotics to him, the report said.
Benincase was ultimately arrested and charged with possession of crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia. The New York native was transported to Lake County Jail and released after posting $3,500 bond.