A convicted felon was arrested after being caught with cocaine during a weekend traffic stop in Wildwood.
Freddie Lee Bailey, 48, of Wildwood, was riding as a passenger in a red 2011 Chevrolet pickup truck at about 9:40 p.m. Saturday when the vehicle was pulled over at the intersection of Oak and Pitt streets.
Selective Enforcement Unit officers with the Wildwood Police Department initiated the stop after watching the truck run a stop sign on Fourth Street. Prior to the traffic stop, officers observed the vehicle pull into a driveway in a known “high crime and high narcotics area,” where the occupants had a brief interaction before abruptly leaving, according to an arrest report.
A K-9 unit was summoned to the scene, and the dog alerted on the vehicle, indicating the likely presence of drugs. During a subsequent search, officers found Bailey’s wallet, which contained his Florida identification card, a clear plastic baggie holding 0.18 grams of cocaine and a white straw commonly used to ingest narcotics.
A criminal history check revealed Bailey has previous convictions for drug and paraphernalia possession in Sumter and Lake counties. In 2020, he was caught with a firearm near a day care where children were playing in Wildwood
He was arrested on a felony charge of possession of cocaine and a misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. He was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center and was released on Sunday after posting $3,500 bond.