A Leesburg man was arrested after drugs were found underneath a power tool in his van.
Thomas Elmer Hodge, 48, failed to come to a complete stop Sunday at the intersection of South Center Street and Mills Avenue in Eustis.
A Eustis police officer was behind his red van on East Lakeview Avenue when he saw the van fail to stop at a stop sign. The officer conducted a traffic stop at the intersection of Center Street and Mills Avenue.
When asked if there was anything illegal in the van, Hodge said there was not and refused to allow the officer to search the van.
While the officer was writing a ticket for the stop sign violation a K-9 officer arrived on the scene and conducted a sniff search around the exterior of the van. The K-9 alerted on the vehicle which gave the officers cause to search the van. When Hodge got out of the van he dropped a small baggie which appeared to have a residue of a white powder. The officers found a baggie containing two grams of methamphetamine underneath a power tool behind the front passenger seat. A digital scale was also found in the van. Hodge told the police that he had last used meth a year ago and did not know any was in the van. Hodge said he uses the tools in the van for work.
Hodge was charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was transported to the Lake County Jail where he was released after he posted $3,000 bond.
