Fort Myers Drug Violations Law Blog

A man was arrested and held in jail for three months after being falsely accused of having cocaine in his vehicle. Police initially pulled the Florida resident over  in March because he was allegedly driving with no headlights at about 9:30 p.m. Before the night was over, he was in jail and facing false drug possession charges.

According to the officer who pulled him over, the 57-year-old man was on probation for selling small amounts of marijuana and cocaine, and had an 8 p.m. curfew. The man argued that his curfew was actually 10 p.m, but the officer arrested him anyway and called for a K-9 to search his vehicle. The arrest report states that the policeman found debris in the vehicle which he suspected was small amounts of marijuana, and he found tiny chunks that he thought was cocaine.

A bill was recently signed into law in Florida which establishes mandatory minimums for those caught with the drug known as fentanyl. Governor Rick Scott signed the drug possession measure, which was written with the intention of cracking down on the dealers who are selling the drug or any of its derivatives. Because fetanyl is such a dangerous drug, the hope is that stricter sentencing guidelines will help eradicate its use across the state.

Fentanyl is an intense, man-made opioid that has caused many deaths across the country. For those who are caught with between 4 grams and 14 grams of the drug, the mandatory sentence would be at least three years. Anyone convicted of having between 14 grams and 28 grams would spend at least 15 years in prison, and those possessing over 28 grams would receive a sentence of not less than 25 years.

After a recent drug sting, 26 people have been arrested on various charges and 10 more are at large. Reports from the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office share that the suspects were taken during Operation Shady Lane, a multi-agency effort to catch those involved in drug trafficking in Florida. As many as 36 warrants were issued for the operation.

Along with the arrests, police reportedly confiscated close to $120,000 worth of drugs and weapons. Cocaine, heroin and 500 prescription pills, as well as a sawed-off shotgun and other weapons, were all said to have been taken from the scene. There were other suspicious substances found as well that have not yet been analyzed by authorities, according to the report.

Despite the fact that the state voted to legalize medical marijuana last year, one resident was recently arrested after police found him with the drug. According to officers, the man was too brazen about the weed before he was charged with drug trafficking in Florida. The whole ordeal began with just a few illegally parked cars.

Supposedly, when police stopped to check out those cars, they stumbled across a weed festival where people were supporting the use of medical marijuana. The man who was charged claims that he was only coordinating an event that was planned in order to educate the public on Amendment 2, which legalized the drug for certain uses in the state. Officers say, however, that they found over 50 pounds of marijuana in jars as well as chewables, cookies, and candy.