A homeless man in Leesburg who was arrested for trespassing at Wawa was also charged for the glass pipes found after he was detained.
An officer responded to Wawa, located at 1400 W. North Blvd., regarding a suspicious person loitering on the property around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 24, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department. The store manager told dispatch they recognized the person, as they had been previously trespassed from the location. The subject began requesting EMS from the store manager while on the phone with dispatch.
Upon arrival, the officer met the subject, identified as 42-year-old Leroy Alexander Rogers from previous encounters. He was on the premises of Wawa near the entrance at the outside tables. He immediately requested EMS without giving any details as to why he needed medical services, claiming he only came to Wawa to contact EMS, the report said.
Another officer arrived on scene and stayed with Rogers while the other spoke to the store manager. She stated Rogers came into the store, selected a bag of Doritos and a Wawa drink, and brought them to the counter to be purchased. She told him they could not serve him because he had previously been trespassed, and he needed to leave the store, the report said.
Rogers became irritated and went behind the cash register counter to cause a disturbance. The store manager subsequently called law enforcement, the report said.
Witnesses and the store manager also advised that Rogers yelled obscenities at the employees. At one point, he said “he was hungry, and it was Christmas time.” The store manager reiterated that his initial reason for being in the store was to buy items and only changed to asking for EMS once he was told to leave and police were called, the report said.
EMS arrived on scene, and prior to Rogers being transported, he was handcuffed and arrested, the report said. He then refused medical treatment and said, “Just take me to jail.”
Rogers was searched after his arrest, which led to the officer finding two glass pipes, the report said. Each contained a black, burnt residue. The officer recognized these items to be drug paraphernalia commonly used to smoke controlled substances. Following this discovery, Rogers spontaneously uttered, “Are you going to smoke my crack pipe?”
The officer secured Rogers in his patrol vehicle and took him to the LPD for the booking process. While there, the pipe residue tested positive for cocaine. Also, a check of Rogers’ criminal history revealed three arrests in the past six months. These included in August for panhandling at McDonald’s and trespassing at 7-Eleven in November, the report said.
Rogers was ultimately charged with drug paraphernalia (possess or use) and trespass (after warning). He was transported to Lake County Jail to be held without bond.