A homeless Leesburg man was arrested in Eustis thanks to the work of a law enforcement K-9.
Daniel Allen Owens, 50, was a passenger in a truck Saturday that was driven by a woman who attracted the attention of a Eustispolice officer. The woman had a “blank stare” as she drove past the officer on North Eustis Street. The woman quickly turned onto East McDonald Street and she and a passenger, later identified as Owens, got out of the vehicle and walked away before the officer could make contact with her. A check of the license plate led to the discovery that the woman had a suspended license.
The officer, who was on patrol with his K-9, kept the truck under surveillance and approached the woman and Owens when they returned to the truck. The officer knew Owens from previous law enforcement encounters. When the K-9 was deployed to perform a sniff test the dog, alerted on the passenger side door. A search of the vehicle turned up several unused syringes in the truck and a small amount of marijuana. When the officer searched a small cooler which Owens had been carrying, the officer found 3 grams of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
Owens was charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was transported to the Lake County Jail where bond was set at $3,000 which was posted later that afternoon.
