Following a traffic stop on Nov. 5, a man from Okeechobee who was a passenger in the vehicle was taken into custody and charged with three felony possession of a controlled substance charges. At the time of the traffic infraction, he was in possession of methamphetamine, as well as alprazolam and morphine without a prescription. He is currently being held on $7,500 bond in the Okeechobee County Jail. The three other occupants of the vehicle were also searched but then released.
Officers conducted a field test on what they suspected to be meth and received a positive result for methamphetamine. Both the suspected meth and the medicine tablets were sent to the lab for analysis, according to detectives.
The accused had just posted bond a week prior to this arrest for a previous one on Oct. 28. In addition, the man spent approximately 60 days in the county jail in 2006 after being convicted of felony charges in connection with providing deceitful information to a pawnbroker and having dealt in stolen property. He was also convicted in 2008 of possession with intent to sell or deliver oxycodone, as well as the sale and delivery of a controlled substance. Then, in 2012, the accused was found guilty of driving on a suspended license as a habitual offender, as well as drug paraphernalia and methamphetamine possession. His sentence on those charges was a year in the county jail; however, he was given credit for time served, which amounted to 11 month plus 20 days.
The accused in this story could be facing some stiff penalties for repeat offenses; however, a viable criminal defense could help with the possibility of minimizing those penalties. For example, a defense lawyer might challenge the case on the grounds that the arresting officer did not have the right to search the man during the traffic stop.
Source: Florida News Zap, “Convicted felon arrested again on drug charges in Okeechobee”, Eric Kopp, November 08, 2013