An Orlando man was caught carrying a concealed weapon without a permit when the car he was riding in was pulled over for speeding in Eustis.
Shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday, a Eustis police officer saw a gray Volkswagen headed south at a high speed on County Road 452 near County Road 19A. Radar measured the speed at 57 mph in a 40-mph zone. The officer pulled over the vehicle and spoke with the female driver and her male passenger, 32-year-old Jonathan Lamar Lee.
While speaking with the driver, the officer smelled the strong distinct odor of burnt marijuana coming from the vehicle. When asked if she had a valid medical marijuana card, the driver handed it to the officer. When asked if she had any marijuana in the vehicle, she said yes but it was not in the prescribed container, according to the police report.
The admission that there was marijuana in the vehicle provided probable cause for a vehicle search and the occupants were asked to step out. Asked whether he had anything illegal in his possession, Lee at first said no. He later said he had a firearm in his jacket pocket but had placed it on the floorboard under the passenger seat, the report said.
The officer found a Hellcat 9mm handgun with 12 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. A records search showed Lee does not have a valid concealed carry permit, according to the report.
A continued search of the vehicle turned up a plastic jar filled with a green leafy substance that tested positive for low levels of THC, which the driver had a prescription for. The officer helped the driver package the marijuana and place it in her backpack, and she was given information on how to properly carry her medical marijuana, the report said.
Lee was charged with carrying a concealed firearm without a permit and taken to the Lake County Jail, where he posted $2,000 bond the next day. Lee is scheduled to appear in Lake County Court on Feb. 6.
