On Jan. 7, a Florida man who was accused of intending to distribute cocaine was taken into custody by the Sarasota Police Department. Authorities reportedly made the arrest after they received a number of reports of possible drug deals occurring at a particular location in Sarasota.
The location was in the general area of Leon Avenue and 23rd Street, and it was near a church and a community park. Police approached the accused man at about 11:15 p.m. after he was spotted with an open container. The man, age 30, allegedly resisted the officers before he was placed into custody. While the authorities were searching the man, they reportedly found 37 pieces of crack cocaine in the man’s pocket. As a result, he was charged with felony cocaine possession, resisting a police office, violating Florida’s open container law and possession of drug paraphernalia.
It was reported that he had previous drug charges after he was part of Operation SRQ Cartel II back in 2014. He was found guilty on drug trafficking charges and was sentenced to prison. He was released in June.
When a person is accused of committing these types of drug crimes, the consequences can be severe, especially if the person already has a criminal history. People who are convicted for trafficking in cocaine could be sentenced to years or even decades in prison. A criminal law attorney could mount a strong defense against the charges. Depending on the circumstances, this may include challenging the admissibility of the evidence the prosecution has, especially if the authorities did not have probable cause when the search that led to the seizure of the drugs was made.
Source: Sarasota Patch, “Accused Cocaine Dealer Busted Near Sarasota Church“, D’ann White, Jan. 8, 2018