EUSTIS, Florida—A traffic stop for an obscured tag netted more than 125 grams of methamphetamine, nearly an ounce of cocaine, five guns, a suspected drug ledger and a trip to jail for a DeLand couple early Thursday morning, according to an arrest affidavit.
Eustis Police spotted a vehicle with an aftermarket reverse camera obscuring the tag and pulled it over near the intersection of State Road 19 and County Road 44. After running the tag, the officer found the registered owner was on inmate release status for burglary.
The driver, Jennifer Watts, 34, told police she and her boyfriend, Benjamin Sheffield, 48, both of DeLand, were headed to play “fish games” at a nearby internet casino. Sheffield is the registered owner of the vehicle and refused to identify himself, but later changed his mind.
EPD asked Watts then to exit the vehicle and when she did, the officer asked if anything illegal was in the vehicle. She admitted she had a gun in the door pocket, but does not have a concealed carry permit, the affidavit stated. EPD removed the gun and after checking the serial number they found the Glock 42 was stolen out of Volusia County.
Officers removed Sheffield from the vehicle, and he told them he had a knife in his pocket and when they attempted to pat him down, he put his hands up in protest and refused to be patted down. Sheffield was placed into handcuffs and became “visibly nervous” and began to tremble. Officers asked if he had anything illegal and he admitted he had a firearm in his right front pocket. Officers removed the tiny .22 caliber gun from his pocket.
K9 Mya and her handler arrived on the scene and Mya performed an open-air sniff of the exterior of the vehicle and showed a positive alert, according to the affidavit. Officers then searched the vehicle and found a bag containing a “female pleasure device” and a single Xanax pill in Watt’s door pocket. They found a loaded Taurus 9mm pistol under the front right seat where, Sheffield was seated. Inside the trunk, two large bags of methamphetamine were found along with a plastic case that contained another bag of methamphetamine, multiple baggies of cocaine and a scale. The total weight of the methamphetamine was 127 grams and the cocaine weighed 25 grams. Two more guns, a UNIS .22 caliber pistol and an AMT .380 were found in addition to nearly $9,000 in cash, according to the affidavit.
A black notebook was also found in the trunk that appeared to be a drug ledger; the arresting officer noted. It contained several names and numbers were written beneath the names, according to the affidavit.
Sheffield and Watts were both arrested for armed trafficking of methamphetamine, possession of cocaine with intent to sell and possession of drug paraphernalia. Watts was also charged with possession of alprazolam (Xanax) and grand theft of a firearm. Sheffield is also facing two counts of carrying a concealed firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Watts is being held at the Lake County Jail on $68,000 bond and Sheffield is being held on $70,000 bond.
