A Leesburg man who told an officer he was wearing gloves because he doesn’t like leaving fingerprints on things he picks up later admitted he was hiding methamphetamine in them while being taken to the police department after he was arrested on a handful of other charges last week.
Kahlil Malik Caswell, 23, of 1606 Stafford Road, was charged with possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), possession of drug paraphernalia, resisting/obstructing without violence, loitering or prowling, and possession of burglary tools.
At around 1 a.m. May 20, a Leesburg Police officer observed a man – later identified as Caswell – standing in the unlit parking lot of AutoZone, 1325 Marion Street. The business had been closed since 9 p.m., and Caswell’s presence raised suspicion, according to the police report.
As the officer approached Caswell, he started walking backwards towards a bicycle, got on it and started fleeing north towards Marion Street. The officer turned on his lights and siren to conduct a traffic stop, but Caswell refused and continued to ride away. Caswell rode through the McDonald’s drive-through onto North 14th Street and continued until finally being stopped in the Pat’s Sales parking lot at 1095 N. 14th St., the report said.
Caswell was searched while he was being arrested. Inside his pocket front-right pocket was a blown glass pipe with black and white residue inside it. Officers also found a large metal pipe with a grip inside Caswell’s backpack, along with a grey grocery bag with the tip-end ripped out of it, according to the report.
During the search, the officer asked Caswell why he was wearing mechanics gloves. Caswell replied, “Because I don’t like my fingerprints getting on things.” Asked what things, Caswell said, “things I pick up.” During the conversation, the officer asked Caswell about his drug of choice and he said “Ice,” which is the street name for methamphetamine, the report said.
Before placing Caswell into the patrol car, the officer looked inside to make sure there was no debris or illegal items inside. Once at the Leesburg Police Department for booking, the officer noticed the tip end of a grocery bag twisted up in the seat where Caswell had been sitting. Inside the bag was a white/clear crystal substance, according to the report.
Caswell originally denied the substance was his, but the officer showed camera footage of him in the back seat. Caswell then admitted it was his and said he hid it inside the gloves he was wearing. Before testing the substance, the officer asked Caswell what it was and he said, “Ice.” The substance weighed less than a gram and field-tested positive for methamphetamine, the report said.
Caswell was taken to the Lake County Jail, where he was still being held Tuesday on $7,000 bond. He is due to appear in Lake County Court on June. 14.
