A sex offender in Leesburg and his Weirsdale cohort were arrested on drug charges after being stopped at Circle K.
Officers stopped 46-year-old David Mitchell Walters and 40-year-old Joshua Lee Messer at Circle K, 3300 W Main St., around 8:40 p.m. Thursday, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department. The tint of their vehicle appeared to be below the legal limit, and the registration had expired since May 27.
The occupants became extremely irate and argumentative as more officers responded to the traffic stop, including a K-9 unit that alerted to the odor of narcotics. When they asked the unidentified driver to step out of the vehicle, he actively resisted and refused. They were still commanding him to exit when Walters produced a machete from between the center console and the passenger seat, the report said.
Officers ordered him to drop the machete and step out of the vehicle before removing him. They then got Messer out of the vehicle, but he tensed his arms to prevent them from handcuffing him. He also tried to turn his body toward the officers after being told several times to turn around. He was eventually detained, the report said.
During this process, Walters held a cup of pink liquid. Opening the lid revealed an aluminum-colored twist container, commonly referred to as a compact pill holder, floating in the liquid. Inside the container was a crystal rock-like substance that tested positive for methamphetamine, the report said.
Officers were attempting to search Walters when they felt a bulge in his pants. He refused to let them continue and was escorted to the ground. The officers located a similar pill holder in his underwear that tested positive for about 1.2 grams of methamphetamine, the report said.
A subsequent search of the vehicle yielded two glass smoking devices with burnt narcotic residue inside a camo bag. Walters claimed ownership of a set of keys that were attached to the bag and its contents. There was also a digital scale with white powdery residue on the front passenger seat, where Walters was seated, the report said.
In Messer’s seat, the officers discovered a clear bag with clothes and a screw-top container with 3.6 grams of methamphetamine. He had been seen carrying this bag during earlier surveillance at Wawa, the report said.
Additionally, Messer yelled at the officers and threatened to shoot them when he got out of jail. They told him that he would be charged for making these threats, and he claimed he was going to “sue” them, the report said.
Walters was ultimately arrested on charges of possession of methamphetamine, four counts of drug paraphernalia (possess or use), tampering with evidence and resist officer without violence. He was booked at the Lake County Jail and released after posting $7,000 bond.
He was previously convicted of lewd/lascivious battery on a victim under 16 years of age in Marion County on March 17, 2008. He also has four convictions for failure to comply with sexual offender registration in Lake and Sumter Counties in Feb. 2021 and Aug. 2023
Messer was charged with threat to law enforcement officer, possession of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia (possess or use) and resist officer without violence. The Michigan native was released from jail after posting $5,500 bond.