A Leesburg man was arrested on drug trafficking charges after he reportedly discarded multiple bags of meth while being pursued on foot by a Lake County sheriff’s deputy.
Daniel Lee Woods, 40, of 1634 Little Harbor Point #5, was charged with trafficking 14 grams or more of methamphetamine and possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine). He has two prior drug arrests dating back to 2018, according to Lake County Jail records.
Shortly after 2 p.m. Monday, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office’s Special Investigations Unit requested that a marked patrol car conduct a traffic stop on a vehicle involved in an investigation. The vehicle was a tan 2005 Chevrolet Impala. Detectives guided the deputy by radio to an address on North Orange Street in Mount Dora, where the Impala was parked. A short time later, the deputy was informed the vehicle was in motion again and multiple units responded to the area of East Jackson Avenue and North Simpson Street, where the vehicle was parked outside a residence on Simpson, according to the sheriff’s office report.
The deputy observed Woods walking away from the vehicle on foot. Woods walked behind the residence and the deputy lost sight of him, but detectives said they saw Woods tossing or throwing multiple packages while he was walking through the yard. Woods emerged from the yard onto North Simpson Street, where he was stopped and handcuffed, the report said.
Numerous clear plastic bags containing a white substance were picked up off the ground, along with money and a scratch-off lottery ticket. The substance tested positive for methamphetamine. One of the baggies contained 14 grams, while the other bag contained 10 smaller bags totaling 10 grams, which means Woods had 24 total grams of methamphetamine in his possession, according to the report.
Woods is being held in the Lake County Jail on $25,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in Lake County Court on June 27.
