| Probable cause affidavit: |
SUBMITTED BY: HOWARD, RUSS 0297 (AR14-12976) DID UNLAWFULLY AND KNOWINGLY HAVE IN HIS ACTUAL OR CONSTRUCTIVE POSSESSION A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE, TO WIT: CANNABIS, COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS MARIJUANA, IN AN AMOUNT OF 20 GRAMS OR LESS, IN VIOLATION OF FLORIDA STATE STATUTE 893.13(6)(B). ON 112814 AT APPROXIMATELY 2315 HOURS, I WAS RUNNING TRAFFIC ON WEST NORVELL BRYANT HIGHWAY, JUST EAST OF LKQ, IN CRYSTAL RIVER, AS PART OF A TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT DETAIL. I WAS PARKED IN THE MEDIAN ON WEST NORVELL BRYANT HIGHWAY FACING EAST, JUST EAST OF LKQ. I OBSERVED A VEHICLE TRAVELING WESTBOUND ON WEST NORVELL BRYANT HIGHWAY AND I VISUALLY ESTIMATED THE SPEED OF THE VEHICLE TO BE APPROXIMATELY 63/64 MILES PER HOUR IN A 45 MILE PER HOUR ZONE. I THEN ACTIVATED MY RADAR, WHICH SHOWED A DIGITAL READ OUT OF 64 MILES PER HOUR. I PULLED OUT BEHIND THE SAID VEHICLE, WHICH WAS A BLACK IN COLOR, JEEP SPORTS UTILITY VEHICLE (SUV), BEARING FLORIDA LICENSE PLATE A149LW. THE VEHICLE PULLED IN TO THE TURNING LANE AT LKQ, AT WHICH POINT THE DRIVER OF THE BLACK JEEP SUV, THREW A GENEROUS AMOUNT OF A GREEN LEAFY SUBSTANCE OUT OF THE DRIVER SIDE WINDOW AND ON TO THE SIDE OF WEST NORVELL BRYANT HIGHWAY. DUE TO MY DRIVER SIDE WINDOW BEING DOWN IN MY PATROL VEHICLE, I WAS HIT BY THE SUBSTANCE RESIDUE. I IMMEDIATELY CALLED FOR ADDITIONAL UNITS, AS WELL AS THE K-9 UNIT. DUE TO MY KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE OF DEALING WITH MARIJUANA, I AM FAMILIAR WITH ITS ODOR AND I IMMEDIATELY DETECTED THE SMELL OF MARIJUANA EMITTING FROM WHAT WAS THROWN OUT OF THE SUSPECT VEHICLE, AND WHICH WAS ALSO STUCK TO MY PATROL VEHICLE. I THEN MADE CONTACT WITH THE DRIVER OF THE BLACK JEEP SUV, LATER IDENTIFIED BY HIS FLORIDA DRIVER'S LICENSE AS MR CONNOR JAMES MCCARTHY. I EXPLAINED TO MR MCCARTHY WHY HE HAD BEEN STOPPED AND I THEN EXPLAINED TO HIM THAT IT IS A FELONY TO TAMPER WITH PHYSICAL EVIDENCE, SUCH AS THROWING THE MARIJUANA OUT OF THE WINDOW OF HIS VEHICLE. MR MCCARTHY DENIED KNOWING WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT; HOWEVER, HAVING WITNESSED HIM DO IT, HIS VERSION OF THE EVENT WAS IMMATERIAL. A SHORT TIME LATER, I HAD MR MCCARTHY EXIT HIS VEHICLE AND STAND AT THE REAR OF HIS VEHICLE. I IMMEDIATELY NOTICED PIECES OF WHAT APPEARED TO BE MARIJUANA PLANT RESIDUE STUCK TO HIS OUTER CLOTHING AND ON THE INSIDE OF HIS HOODIE. A SHORT TIME LATER, DEPUTY TAYLOR (0700), DEPUTY JOHNSON (0178), AND I LOCATED MANY PIECES OF THE GREEN LEAFY SUBSTANCE, BELIEVED TO BE MARIJUANA, ON THE SIDE OF THE TURNING LANE WHERE THE DRIVER/DEFENDANT, MR MCCARTHY, HAD THREW IT OUT. THE PIECES WERE COLLECTED, LATER WEIGHED, AND PLACED IN TO EVIDENCE. K-9 DEPUTY VIGGIANO (0682) RESPONDED TO THE SCENE AND HIS K-9 POSITIVELY ALERTED TO THE DEFENDANTâS VEHICLE. A SEARCH OF THE INTERIOR OF THE DEFENDANTâS VEHICLE WAS CONDUCTED, WHERE A BLUE BAG WAS LOCATED, WHICH CONTAINED A LARGE AMOUNT OF MARIJUANA RESIDUE. MARIJUANA RESIDUE WAS ALSO DISCOVERED ON THE DRIVERâS SIDE ARM REST, AS WELL AS THE FLOOR BOARD ON THE DRIVERâS SIDE. AS PREVIOUSLY STATED, MR MCCARTHY HAD MARIJUANA RESIDUE ALL OVER HIS CLOTHING. A SHORT TIME LATER, THE DEFENDANT WAS PLACED UNDER ARREST AND CHARGED WITH POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA (LESS THAN 20 GRAMS). MR MCCARTHYâS VEHICLE WAS TURNED OVER TO ONE OF THE PASSENGERS IN HIS VEHICLE, PER HIS REQUEST, AS WELL AS ALL OF THE MONEY ON HIS PERSON. THE DEFENDANT WAS TRANSPORTED TO THE CITRUS COUNTY DETENTION FACILITY, WHERE HE WAS ISSUED WRITTEN TRAFFIC WARNING, WARNING NUMBER 99040714, FOR TRAVELING 64 MILES PER HOUR IN A 45 MILE PER HOUR ZONE. THE SUSPECTED MARIJUANA WAS WEIGHED AND IT WEIGHED APPROXIMATELY 17 GRAMS. THE TRAFFIC STOP WAS RECORDED VIA IN CAR CAMERA, WHICH WILL LATER BE SUBMITTED TO EVIDENCE. THE DEFENDANTâS BOND WAS SET AT $1,000.00, PER THE BOND SCHEDULE. |
