A 20-year-old Summerfield man was arrested on a felony weapons charge after a deputy pulled him over for not wearing a seatbelt in Wildwood.
At about 11 a.m. Thursday, a deputy with the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office was conducting traffic enforcement on State Road 44 near Interstate 75. The deputy spotted a white Nissan Altima traveling westbound and noticed the driver was not wearing a seatbelt, prompting a traffic stop.
Upon speaking with the driver, identified as Lou Elliott McCullough, the deputy immediately detected the odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle. McCullough admitted he did not possess a medical marijuana card and denied having any legal hemp or CBD alternatives in the car. A presumptive field test of a substance found in the vehicle yielded a positive result for marijuana.
A status check through the sheriff’s office communications center also revealed that McCullough’s driver’s license was currently suspended for failure to pay court financial obligations.
During a subsequent probable cause search of the Altima, the deputy located a Springfield Arms XDS .45-caliber firearm hidden inside the glove compartment. A check of the gun’s serial number confirmed it had been reported stolen out of Pasco County.
McCullough was arrested on a felony charge of grand theft of a firearm, as well as misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana under 20 grams and driving while license suspended. He was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center, with bond set at $4,000. He was also issued a uniform traffic citation for operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license.