A Leesburg man was arrested on drug charges despite tossing away a baggie of suspected narcotics during a traffic stop.
Officers spotted 64-year-old Emilo Leija driving a red GMC SUV eastbound on U.S. Hwy. 441 around 4:15 p.m. Thursday, according to an arrest report from the Mount Dora Police Department. The vehicle’s taillights looked tinted, leading to a traffic stop near East Crooked Lake Drive.
While speaking with Leija, dispatch advised that he had a possible warrant out of Orange County. However, they could not confirm it due to an error in the database with the date of birth in the file, the report said.
One of the officers then noticed a plastic baggie with white powder on the center console inside the vehicle. Leija was asked to step out, during which he threw the baggie to conceal the evidence. The officers tried to find the baggie but were unsuccessful, the report said.
Leija later advised that he did not know the baggie was there, so he threw it away. He claimed it belonged to a friend that was riding in the vehicle at a previous time, the report said.
The officers subsequently searched the vehicle and found another baggie with white powder on the driver’s side floorboard and a white rock-like substance on the front passenger seat. The substance tested positive for cocaine, the report said.
Leija was arrested on charges of possession of cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia and tampering/destroying evidence. The native of Mexico was transported to Lake County Jail and released after posting $6,000 bond.