EUSTIS, Fla.—Dark tint and a burned-out tag light caught the attention of a Eustis Police Department officer early Friday and ended with the arrest of an Apopka man for trafficking, according to an arrest affidavit.
Around 12:45 a.m. Friday, EPD was patrolling the area of U.S. Highway 441 and Eudora Road when an officer noticed a vehicle with “very dark” tint and a tag that was not completely illuminated. The officer stopped the vehicle and smelled burnt marijuana as he approached the car, the affidavit states.
The officer asked the four females and one male occupying the car if anyone had a medical marijuana card and no one answered, and the male, later identified as John Lanard Baker, 40, of Apopka, was holding onto a grey backpack, the officer noted. Three EPD officers arrived as backup and all five occupants were asked to exit the vehicle. Officers searched the vehicle and found a burnt marijuana blunt near the front passenger seat and crack cocaine rolled in foil in the center console, according to the affidavit.
The grey backpack Baker was holding was searched and officers found more marijuana and a digital scale with white residue. Officers then searched Baker and found a pill bottle in his waistband that contained 7 grams of crack cocaine and two baggies that tested positive for MDMA and weighed 13 grams—a trafficking amount. He also had $400 cash in his wallet, according to the affidavit.
Baker, who was also wanted in Orange County for failure to pay child support, was arrested for trafficking in MDMA, possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was transported to the Lake County Jail, where he is being held on $29,500 bond.
