A Fruitland Park man was arrested for driving with a suspended license after being spotted coming out of the 7-Eleven parking lot.
An officer spotted a red Ford pickup truck in the parking lot of 7-Eleven, located at 2018 U.S. Hwy. 441, at 1 p.m. Sunday, according to an arrest report from the Fruitland Park Police Department. A check of the license plate revealed the registered owner, 62-year-old Vernon Lonzo Howard, had a revoked driver’s license and was a habitual offender.
The officer saw an older man getting into the driver’s seat of the truck, and a check of Howard’s license in a law enforcement database confirmed it was him. The truck then left through the north end of the parking lot and turned onto Eagles Nest Road headed east. A traffic stop was subsequently conducted at Eagles Nest Road and U.S. Hwy. 441, the report said.
Howard was asked to step out of the vehicle, to which he complied. He was subsequently handcuffed and arrested, the report said.
Howard was charged with driving while license suspended (habitual offender) and transported to Lake County Jail. He was released after posting $2,500 bond.
He was also arrested in March 2024 after being busted with drugs on a bicycle.