A homeless man in Leesburg was arrested with a trafficking amount of methamphetamine after giving false information to law enforcement.
Officers and members of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission were heading to a residence on Lucas Street to find 38-year-old Nathan Joseph Rosson around 2:55 p.m. Wednesday, May 27, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department. He had an active Lake County warrant for violation of probation for petit theft (stolen property).
As units pulled onto Lucas Street, Rosson rode past them on a bicycle with his head down. An officer made a U-turn and saw him headed eastbound on South Street. He began to follow Rosson, who kept his head down while looking around, the report said.
Rosson then turned onto Venture Avenue, into a business plaza, came to a dead end and turned around to check where the patrol vehicle was. Due to this evasive behavior, the officer drew his taser and instructed Rosson to put his hands on the hood of the patrol vehicle. He was subsequently detained in handcuffs, the report said.
When asked if he was Rosson, he stated no and provided a false name and date of birth. Dispatch found no matches for this information, so Rosson was asked for his Social Security number. He claimed he did not remember it due to an accident, but he later recited it without error, the report said.
An officer requested a Rapid ID machine, which uses fingerprints, at that point. Rosson ultimately admitted his real name, and his warrant was confirmed, the report said.
A subsequent search of his person yielded 22.6 grams of methamphetamine. There was also a black scale in a pouch connected to his bicycle that had methamphetamine residue on and around the edges of the scale, the report said.
Rosson was arrested on charges of trafficking in methamphetamine (14 to 28gm), possession of drug paraphernalia and presenting a false ID to a law enforcement officer. The native of Arkansas was booked at the Lake County Jail without bond.