A man and woman from Ocala were arrested on drug charges after their reckless driving resulted in deputies finding fentanyl in their possession.
Ada Febles, 46, was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and giving a false name to law enforcement, while 53-year-old William Leo Brown Jr. was charged with possession of fentanyl after being taken into custody together at around midnight Wednesday in the 800 block of Berckman Street. A reckless driver complaint filed with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office led to deputies tracking them down and charging them accordingly.
The complaint included a description of a black Nissan passenger car that a deputy observed traveling northbound on County Road 468 in Fruitland Park. The deputy watched as it drifted off the right side of the road into the grass, and to the left side across the double-yellow line into the oncoming traffic several times. The vehicle came to a stop in the roadway at County Road 468 and Berckman Street, where there was no stop sign or signal advising the driver to stop, according to the sheriff’s office arrest reports.
The officer initiated a traffic stop and met with Brown, the driver, and Febles, his passenger. Febles was slumped in her seat and partially conscious. Lake County Emergency Medical Services was notified and responded to the scene, the reports said.
Febles had an open bag in her lap, where a blue straw with white residue was plainly visible. A search of the bag yielded a second blue straw with white residue, along with several pieces of burnt tin foil commonly used for smoking narcotics. The residue tested positive for heroin, the reports said.
Febles provided a social security number to identify herself and advised the officer her name was “Alesia Rivera.” Upon investigation, it was discovered the social security number actually belonged to “Alesia Febles.” The person in the driver’s license photo had a “Jack Skellington” tattoo on her neck that did not match the tattoo on Febles’ neck, the reports said.
The officer again asked Febles for her name, and she again stated it was “Alesia Rivera.” She refused to give her real name even as the officer approached her with a fingerprint scanner. She only told police her name after her fingerprints were taken and the officers got confirmation from the scan, the reports said.
While Febles was being evaluated and questioned, Brown was removed from the vehicle. A K9 officer deployed his K9 partner to conduct a free air sniff of the vehicle, leading the K9 to alert to the odor of narcotics near the driver’s seat where Brown’s wallet had been, the reports said.
A search of Brown revealed two small bags of white substance that had been stashed in his wallet. Both bags tested positive for fentanyl, the reports said.
The pair was placed under arrest. Febles was transported to the Lake County Jail but became unresponsive and was taken to Waterman Hospital for medical treatment. She was taken back to jail with bond set at $2,000 after she was cleared from the hospital. Brown was transported to jail without incident and released after posting $2,000 bond.
