A Leesburg woman who ran a four-way stop sign while not wearing a seat belt was arrested on drug charges during the ensuing traffic stop.
Shameka Lashea Deramus, 30, of 902 Beecher St., was charged with possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. It’s her second arrest in less than a month, after being charged May 22 with letting an unauthorized person drive.
Shortly after 1 p.m. Sunday, a Leesburg police officer observed a black Chevy traveling on McCormack Street with the driver not wearing a seat belt. The vehicle then went through the four-way stop at Johns Avenue without stopping. The officer pulled over the vehicle near McCormack Street and Waltman Avenue, according to the police report.
While the driver, later identified as Deramus, was looking for her license, the officer recognized the overwhelming smell of marijuana coming from Deramus and the driver’s side window, the report said.
After writing Deramus a warning for the traffic violations, the officer had Deramus step out of the vehicle and asked her about the marijuana smell. She said there were no narcotics in the vehicle, according to the report.
The smell of marijuana provided probable cause for a vehicle search, which turned up a black bag underneath the driver’s seat. Inside the bag was a digital scale, an open box of sandwich baggies and a clear bag of a green leafy substance that tested positive for marijuana. The marijuana weighed 28.42 grams, the report said.
Deramus was placed under arrest and taken to the Leesburg Police Department, where she was booked before being transferred to the Lake County Jail. She was released hours later on $3,000 bond and will appear in Lake County Court on July 11.
