A Fruitland Park man with a warrant was arrested with a trafficking amount of methamphetamine at Taco Bell.
Deputies spotted a small black Nissan hatchback traveling north on U.S. Hwy. 27 in Leesburg at 1:30 a.m. Sunday, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. They knew the driver, 39-year–old Jonathan Patrick Lucas, had a warrant and stopped him as he turned into the parking lot of Taco Bell, located at 641 N 14th St.
Lucas refused to get out of his vehicle at first but was ultimately arrested. A subsequent search of his person yielded $1,079 in the pockets of his pants. A K-9 unit proceeded to sniff around the outside of his vehicle and alerted to the odor of narcotics, leading to a search of that, as well, the report said.
Deputies found a clear bag with multiple clear baggies wedged between the seats and the center column of both doors on the driver’s side. A black Adidas cross-body bag was found on the passenger seat, which contained a digital scale, another clear bag with baggies and a black magnetic box. The box had three baggies with 43.72, 17.87 and 13.66 grams of methamphetamine, the report said.
Additionally, a check of Lucas’s license revealed he had been labeled a habitual offender as of Nov. 1, 2022. He also had several suspensions dating back to March 14, 2018, the report said.
Lucas was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, habitual traffic offense and trafficking in amphetamine (more than 28 grams less than 200 grams). The New York native was transported to Lake County Jail with bond set at $103,500.
His prior arrests include stealing a scooter in Sept. 2023, driving with a suspended license in Aug. 2022 and swapping price tags at Walmart in June 2022.