A Leesburg woman was arrested after being caught with an illegal firearm and drugs.
Police ran a random check on a silver utility vehicle in the area of U.S. Hwy. 441 and Donnelly Street at around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to an arrest report from the Mount Dora Police Department. The inquiry revealed that one registered owner of the vehicle had a suspended license, and the other owner did not have a license issued.
The officer conducted a traffic stop and spoke with 26-year-old Ableris Abad Padilla-Perez, the driver and first registered owner of the vehicle. During this conversation, the officer could smell the plain odor of unburnt marijuana emitting from inside of the vehicle. Due to this, the officer called for assistance, the report said.
While the officer completed a citation for driving while license suspended (unknowingly), three more officers arrived on scene and escorted Padilla-Perez and the passenger out of the vehicle, the report said.
The assisting officers also began a search of the vehicle, the report said. Two “fanny pack” style bags were then found, one of which contained two clear bags with large amounts of a green leafy substance that later tested positive for THC and a digital scale. The other contained a Glock handgun.
Padilla-Perez, who was arrested in 2021 when her BMW was blocking traffic in Lady Lake, stated that her significant other had a medical marijuana card, but all of the marijuana belonged to her. She also admitted that the firearm was legally owned by her, the report said.
The passenger advised that she had a medical marijuana card assigned to her but was very vague about who owned the marijuana found inside the vehicle, the report said.
Due to Padilla-Perez stating it belonged to her and investigation revealing that she had an outstanding warrant for her arrest for possession of cannabis out of Texas, she was detained. A search of her person yielded another clear plastic bag with leafy green substance identical to the marijuana previously found, the report said.
The officer was able to weigh the contents within the bags, the report said. The first contained about 29 grams, the second contained about 9 grams and the last contained about 0.7 grams. This totaled an approximate weight of 38.7 grams of marijuana.
From training and experience, the officer concluded that Padilla-Perez was using her vehicle as a transportation device to sell marijuana, especially evident by how it was contained in multiple bags. The digital scale was commonly used for measuring narcotics, and the firearm was usually used for protection during a sale, the report said.
As a result, the Puerto Rican native was arrested on charges of possession of marijuana (more than 20 grams), of marijuana with intent to sell, of a firearm while in commission of felony, and of drug paraphernalia. She was transported to the Lake County Jail and released after posting $8,000 bond.