Several suspects were arrested on drug charges after a narcotics agent busted them for a drug deal exchange in a Walgreens parking lot.
A narcotics agent received word that 51-year-old Kenneth Cornell was headed to Walgreens, located at 900 S. 14th St., to sell narcotics around 3:20 p.m. Monday, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department.
The agent responded to the parking lot in his unmarked undercover vehicle to conduct surveillance. After several minutes, he observed Cornell entering the parking lot on his bicycle and approaching a blue Ford truck. He met with the occupants, later identified as 36-year-old Henry Demetria Darity, 26-year-old Victoria Rachelle Pike and 21-year-old Carli Imel, and the agent watched a hand-to-hand narcotics transaction take place, the report said.
An officer then entered the parking lot in a marked patrol vehicle to confront the involved parties. Due to the agent’s observations, he searched Cornell first. He found a metal bottle within the bag he had strapped to his bike, the report said.
The metal bottle had a foam koozie around the base of it. After removing it, the officer discovered a plastic bag containing a crystalline substance that tested positive for methamphetamine. Also inside of his bag was a glass pipe, the report said.
The officer then spoke with the registered owner of the vehicle who gave consent for his vehicle to be searched. While having the remaining occupants get out of the vehicle, Pike dropped a glass crack pipe underneath the truck. The agent watched this happen, and the officer heard the pipe bounce on the ground, the report said.
Upon searching the seat where Pike sat, the officer found a clear cylinder containing two pieces of a white rock-like substance which tested positive for crack cocaine and weighed 0.5 grams, the report said.
In the rear driver’s side seat where Darity was seated, the officer located a backpack containing a cylindrical container. Inside of this was a crystalline substance which tested positive for methamphetamine and weighed 0.9 grams. Also inside of the backpack were two glass pipes, the report said.
While searching the seat where Imel was located, the officer found a wooden box in the storage pocket behind the front passenger seat. Inside of this box was 3.6 grams of methamphetamine, 0.8 grams of cocaine powder and a glass pipe with Brillo. Two pieces of Alprazolam tablets were found in her socks, the report said.
All of the suspects were placed under arrest and transported to Lake County Jail. Cornell was charged with possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia (possess or use). The Pennsylvania native had bond set at $3,500.
Darity was charged with possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia (possess or use), and his bond was set at $3,500. Pike was charged with possession of crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia (possess or use), and her bond was set at $3,500. Imel was charged with Possession of methamphetamine, cocaine, alprazolam and drug paraphernalia. She was released on her own recognizance and is responsible for appearing in court on Feb. 3.
Additionally, Cornell was arrested in Feb. 2024 when he was caught on a bicycle with narcotics in his backpack. Darity was jailed for two years in Aug. 2022 after giving a phony license to a deputy.