A Lady Lake man and a Eustis woman were arrested on drug charges when she was found slumped over in a vehicle at a dog park on the Historic Side of The Villages.
An officer responded to Paradise Dog Park for routine patrol around 10:15 p.m. Tuesday, according to an arrest report from the Lady Lake Police Department. The park’s daytime hours were from 7 a.m. till dusk, but he would soon encounter 34-year-old Joel Colon Quintana and 37-year-old Elizabeth Chardonay Jergens.
Upon arrival, the officer found what seemed like an unresponsive woman with her head dropped to her chest, slouching and leaning halfway out of a green Honda Civic. The woman, later identified as Jergens, was slouched in the right side of the backseat with the door open, the report said.
As the officer approached the vehicle, Colon Quintana and another woman came up and asked if there was a problem. The officer asked if the vehicle belonged to them, and the woman said it did. Colon Quintana pulled out keys to the car from his pocket and handed them over to the woman, the report said.
The officer told them that they had an unresponsive woman in their backseat, but Colon Quintana tried to leave with her in the vehicle. He was commanded several times to stop, come back and take a seat. He instead went toward the vehicle before walking away again, the report said.
The officer told him again to come back so he could investigate, but he ignored him. He did not listen to any instructions, trying several times to leave the scene. He eventually returned to the front side of his vehicle and was identified as the registered owner of the vehicle, the report said.
During this dispute with the officer, Colon Quintana woke up Jergens. She and the other woman began rummaging through bags in the backseat, the report said.
The two women were then told to stop moving things around in the vehicle. Colon Quintana approached the officer in an aggressive manner and still would not comply with commands. The officer decided to detain him for safety, but he started to turn and take off, the report said.
As the officer began to gain control of Colon Quintana and put his hands behind his back, he tried several times to elude law enforcement and pull away. He still resisted once detained and continued to pull away. A subsequent search of his person revealed an uncapped, used syringe in his front right pocket, the report said.
A K-9 unit then arrived on scene and sniffed around the outside of the vehicle. A positive alert led to a search and the discovery of a sunglasses case with several used needles. These were found in a black jacket in the driver’s seat, the report said.
After being read his rights, Colon Quintana acknowledged the hypodermic needles found in the jacket and stated his drug of choice was fentanyl, the report said.
There was also a black and yellow Dollar General bag on the passenger side of the backseat. Inside the bag was a pink zippered wallet with a clear plastic baggie containing 0.81 grams of methamphetamine. There was a cut straw with crystal residue in the same compartment, the report said.
The officer discovered several used needles and a glass pipe with residue on the driver’s side of the rear floorboard, as well. The report noted the glass pipe was within reach of Jergens. After being read her rights, she admitted the Dollar General bag and pink wallet belonged to her.
This led to a search of Jergens’ person which yielded a folded dollar bill inside her bra under her left breast. The bill contained 1.58 grams of fentanyl. She also had a black backpack that had a metal straw with white crystal residue in its front pocket, the report said.
Colon Quintana was ultimately arrested on charges of obstruction, resisting without violence and possession of drug paraphernalia. The native of Puerto Rico was transported to Lake County Jail and released after posting $3,000 bond.
Jergens was arrested on charges of possession of fentanyl, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. She was taken to jail and released after posting $6,000 bond.