A Villager’s son was arrested on drug charges after a Wildwood police officer spotted him running multiple stop signs in a Mercedes.
Robert Grover Minier, 49, who lives at 1914 Sassparilla Way in the Village of St. James, was driving a black Mercedes at about 6 p.m. Thursday when an officer saw him roll through a stop sign while exiting the Save A Lot plaza onto Gamble Street, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department. Minier then failed to stop at two additional stop signs at the intersections of Huey and Gamble streets, and Huey Street and County Road 44A.
The officer initiated a traffic stop, and Minier pulled into the parking lot of the Cypress Care Center on South Old Wire Road.
While speaking with Minier, who was the sole occupant of the vehicle, the officer noted he was sweating excessively and had multiple open sores on his neck, arms, and face. When asked if there were any narcotics in the car, Minier avoided eye contact and glanced toward the center console, the report indicated.
A K-9 unit was summoned to the scene, and a dog named Mika alerted on the vehicle, signaling the likely presence of drugs. Minier then spontaneously admitted to officers that there were narcotics in the center console.
During a search of the vehicle, police found a clear plastic bag in the center console containing a white powdery substance that field-tested positive for fentanyl. Officers also searched the driver’s side door compartment and found a Domino’s Pizza glasses case holding a glass pipe with white residue and multiple cut plastic straws.
Minier was arrested on a felony charge of possession of fentanyl and a misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. He was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center and released after posting $3,500 bond.