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The Villages
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Ocala man arrested after 9mm pistol, marijuana found in lunchbox

An Ocala man was arrested after a 9mm pistol and marijuana were found inside his lunchbox Thursday evening.

Jerrell Christopher Crawford
Jerrell Christopher Crawford

A Marion County sheriff’s K-9 deputy performed a traffic stop on a maroon 2005 Pontiac sedan due to the driver not wearing his seatbelt, according to an arrest report. The vehicle pulled into a residence located at 5710 NW 6th Place, and as the vehicle came to a stop, the K-9 deputy observed the front seat passenger, 27-year-old Jerrell Christopher Junior Crawford of Ocala, exit the vehicle carrying a grey, black and light blue lunch box and walked toward the residence. The deputy advised Crawford to stop and return to the vehicle several times, at which time Crawford placed the lunch box on the ground in front of the vehicle and sat back down in the front passenger seat. The deputy then placed the lunchbox on the hood of the car and made contact with the driver.  Another deputy responded to the location to assist and issued the driver a written warning for the seatbelt violation, while the K-9 performed a drug sniff of the vehicle. The deputy’s K-9 alerted indicating the presence of drugs in the vehicle.

Upon searching the lunchbox, the deputy discovered a large glass “peach slices” jar containing marijuana. Also inside the main compartment of the lunchbox was a large amount of medium sized sandwich baggies, along with a small baggie containing a small amount of marijuana. In the smaller front zip-up pocket on the lunch box, the deputy discovered a black 9mm Taurus pistol loaded with six rounds in the magazine and an additional live round in the chamber. In the small side pocket of the lunch box, the deputy discovered a mostly burnt marijuana cigarette with a small amount of marijuana remaining. All marijuana found in the lunchbox field tested positive for THC.

Under the front passenger seat, the deputy discovered a black, functional “ASW” digital scale that had marijuana residue on the scale. Based on everything discovered in the lunchbox and vehicle, the deputy believed that Crawford was distributing the marijuana.

A criminal history check on Crawford turned up a felony charge in Georgia for fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer for a felony offense. It showed the disposition was deferred in May of this year.

Crawford was placed under arrest, but he advised that he wished to speak with his attorney. He was transported to Marion County Jail. Bond was set at $15,000.

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