COPS CORNER 09.03.18

WINTER GARDEN

AUG. 29

3200 block of Daniels Road. Drug possession. At about 6:30 a.m., an officer responded to the parking lot of a gas station in reference to a woman who was reportedly acting abnormally. Upon arrival, an officer made contact with three women parked at the gas station. The driver was alert and coherent, according to the officer. The driver explained the two women in the vehicle were taking “dab” hits, which refers to hashish oil. The rear passenger handed over a mouthpiece containing hashish oil residue and was arrested and charged with possession. A juvenile who also was present at the scene was released to her mother.

AUG. 30

1100 block of East Plant Street. Drug possession. At 1 a.m., an officer on traffic patrol clocked a BMW traveling 54 mph in a 35-mph speed zone. The officer conducted a traffic stop and immediately detected the odor of cannabis while speaking with the driver. While the officer ran the driver’s license through dispatch, he saw the driver reach up and put something in the vehicle’s sunroof, which was discovered to be a bag containing cannabis. The man was arrested and charged with possession of cannabis.

OCOEE

AUG. 30

Ocoee Apopka Road. DUI. At about 9:52 p.m., an officer observed a vehicle swerving and almost entering an oncoming lane before turning right into an access road for a commercial plaza and striking the curb. When contact was made with the driver, two officers immediately noticed the odor of alcohol from the driver’s vehicle and breath. The driver reportedly slurred his speech and struggled to keep his head straight while conversing with the officers. He nearly fell down when attempting to exit his vehicle to perform a field-sobriety exercise. The driver struggled to perform the exercises and was asked to stop, because he could not maintain his balance and nearly fell several times. The driver was arrested and charged with a DUI.

AUG. 31

North Lakewood Avenue. Drug possession. At about 2:18 a.m., an Ocoee police officer on traffic patrol began following a vehicle. The officer ran the tag through dispatch, which advised the vehicle’s registration had expired in late July. The officer conducted a traffic stop to question the driver, who stated he hadn’t renewed his registration because he had to pay past-due tolls but hasn’t had the money. The officer then asked if he could search the vehicle, but the driver refused. The officer then requested a K9 officer, who performed an air sniff and alerted the officers to the potential presence of drugs. During the resulting vehicle search, the officer found a wallet containing several clear plastic baggies with methamphetamine and heroin residue, as well as a backpack containing drug paraphernalia. The driver, who had been placed in handcuffs, then complained of wrist pain. At that point, the officer noticed a large bulge in one of the driver’s socks, the source of which was another baggy containing methamphetamine. The driver was charged with possession of illegal narcotics.

WINDERMERE

AUG. 29

Maguire Road. DUI. At approximately 4 a.m., an officer was flagged down at the Maguire Road and Park Avenue round-a-bout due to a single-vehicle traffic accident. A man was standing in the roadway and there was a black land rover with severe damage, including deflated tires and broken axles. According to the driver, he was not injured and had crashed after losing control of the vehicle while speeding. According to a police report, there were tire tracks that traveled directly through the middle of the round-a-bout, rather than around it. There was also damage to the curb and the triangular concrete median on the south side. It was determined the driver was operating his vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Two breath tests revealed a blood alcohol level of .159 and .166.