A man and woman were arrested on drug charges when deputies found fentanyl and paraphernalia in their vehicle during a traffic stop.
A deputy saw a white Kia sedan fail to stop behind a posted stop bar in Leesburg around 10:20 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. The occupants, later identified as 38-year-old Richard Allen Pettis of Weirsdale and 34-year-old Jessica Lynne Brown of Leesburg, came to a complete stop on Sandford Street and Griffin Road.
A check of the tag revealed it was owned by Rent A Ride. The deputy subsequently stopped the vehicle at Thomas and Mispah Avenues where Pettis handed over his driver’s license. He denied consent for the deputy to search the vehicle, so a K-9 unit from the Fruitland Park Police Department was called to the scene, the report said.
The K-9 sniffed around the outside of the vehicle and alerted to the odor of narcotics. Before the occupants were even removed from the vehicle, a blue straw and tin foil with white powdery substance were found within throwing distance, the report said…