Marion County sheriff’s deputies arrested a Belleview man Monday after they found him “acting strangely” on the side of U.S. Hwy. 27/441.
Deputies responded to the 15600 block of the highway after receiving multiple calls about the man, later identified as 41-year-old Daniel Marc Harshman. The callers told 911 operators that Harshman was “jumping up and down, slapping himself in the head, balling his fist, and appeared to be on drugs,” a sheriff’s office report states.
A detective arrived and witnessed Harshman’s erratic behavior. As he approached him, Harshman took a step toward the detective holding a knife in his hand that was still in its sheath, a sheriff’s office report states.
The detective then ordered Harshman to get on the ground and secured him in handcuffs. When asked if he had anything illegal, Harshman said “he had dope in his pocket,” the report says.
When a deputy arrived to assist the detective, he saw two orange cylindrical containers on the ground that had been removed from Harshman’s pocket. Harshman told the deputy that the containers held cigarettes, a ring and heroin, the report says, adding that the deputy located three small plastic baggies that each contained a small amount of a white powder that field tested positive for heroin.
Harshman was taken into custody and transported to the Marion County Jail, where he was charged with possession of a control substance (heroin) without a prescription. He was being held on $25,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in a Marion County courtroom on Oct. 23 at 9 a.m. to answer to the charge.
Harshman has been housed in the Marion County Jail nine times since Aug. 2010. Since that time he’s faced a litany of charges related to drug possession, as well as larceny/petit theft and driving with a suspended or revoked license, jail records show.