An Orlando man two days away from court was arrested after being stopped on the Florida Turnpike with a THC vape and a firearm.
Troopers stopped 27-year-old Kyle Rajiv Aponte in a white Mercedes coupe on the turnpike in Leesburg at 11:40 a.m. Monday, according to an arrest report from the Florida Highway Patrol. The vehicle’s license plate had a tinted cover, and the front windshield had a heavy tint too close to the roofline.
Aponte advised that he bought the vehicle in Texas over the weekend and was headed back to Orlando. During this conversation, he was overly friendly and concerned if he was going to jail for the license plate being obscured. He was subsequently removed from the Mercedes as a K-9 unit sniffed around the outside of it to check for narcotics, the report said.
With a positive alert, Aponte was put in the back of a patrol vehicle so the Mercedes could be searched. He then admitted there was a THC vape inside the vehicle, which was found in the center console beside bottles of Van Gogh vodka. There was also a Glock 40 under a t-shirt in the backseat, the report said.
A subsequent check of Aponte’s criminal history revealed he was out on pre-trial release as of June 21 in Orange County. He had a felony charge for fleeing to elude law enforcement, and amongst the special conditions of his release was not leaving the state without permission, not possessing drugs without a prescription and not possessing a firearm. His pending court date at the time was Wednesday, the report said.
Aponte was arrested on charges of violations of conditions of release and possession of synthetic cannabinoids. The New Jersey native was transported to Lake County Jail to be held without bond.