A homeless man in a Lexus was arrested in the wee hours Thursday morning at Rogers Park in Leesburg.
Andre Ricardo Topey, 34, was sitting behind the wheel of the Lexus with the driver’s side door open as a Leesburg police officer was patrolling the park, which had closed at 10 p.m. As the officer approached Topey, he slammed the door and refused to open it.
The officer could see that Topey had a cellophane baggie between his legs. It appeared to contain a white substance. He rolled down the window and handed the officer a Florida identification card, but refused the officer’s request to exit the car. Topey continued to refuse to get out of the car as backup officers arrived on the scene. When he was removed from the vehicle, he refused to be handcuffed and kicked one of the officers several times.
The officers saw that Topey was chewing on what appeared to be a baggie. He refused to spit out the baggie when ordered to do so by the officers. He was taken to UF Health-Leesburg Hospital. When he arrived at the hospital the baggie was not in his mouth. When asked what was in the baggie he said, “I’m not going to tell you, I don’t want to incriminate myself,” according to the arrest report. A search of the Lexus revealed three partially smoked cigarettes which contained MDMA, a controlled substance.
He was charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, resisting arrest and tampering with evidence. He was was booked at the Lake County Jail and released after posting $11,000 bond.
