A homeless man in Fruitland Park was arrested for drug possession after being stopped for riding his bike without proper lighting.
A deputy conducted a traffic stop on a bicyclist, later identified as 61-year-old Vernon Lonzo Howard, at Eagles Nest Road and Grays Airport Road in Fruitland Park around 7:22 p.m. Monday, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. He observed the bicycle crossing the road without a proper front or rear light displayed.
The deputy spoke with Howard and used his given name and date of birth to run a check on his driving history, which confirmed that Howard did not have a valid license. The deputy then explained that he could not operate a bicycle at night without the proper lighting displayed, the report said.
Howard began to show some nervous behavior as the deputy did so, leading him to ask for Howard’s consent to search an orange and black bag attached to the underside of the bicycle seat. He agreed, but the deputy next noticed a folding pocketknife in the front right pocket of Howard’s jeans, the report said.
This caused the deputy to ask Howard if he had any other weapons or items on his person that he needed to know about. Howard responded with, “Oh man, I’m going to jail.” The deputy wanted to know why he would say that and was told it was because he had his medicine on him, the report said.
Howard then took out a small baggie from his front right pocket along with other miscellaneous items, including a second pocketknife. He continued to tell the deputy it was his medicine. Inside the baggie there was a small piece of plastic tied into a knot. Howard advised that he brought one pill a day with him to work, the report said.
Howard alleged the pill had been crushed while he was working, the report said. The deputy asked him to produce a prescription so he could verify this claim, but he could not. He instead repeated, “Man, I’m going to jail.”
At that point, the deputy detained Howard for both of their safety while he checked his findings. Inside the smaller of the two bags was a fine pink powdered substance that tested positive for fentanyl, the report said.
Howard was subsequently charged with possession of fentanyl and transported to Lake County Jail. Bond was set at $2,500.