a day ago
Traffic stop in the Keys: guns, marijuana and a link to a Florida Panthers game?
A handful of marijuana and a couple of guns — one with a connection to the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers — got four men from Palm Beach arrested in the Florida Keys, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies say a Saturday afternoon traffic stop was made at Mile Marker 103 on U.S. 1 with Greenacres' Demerion Fields, 21, at the wheel, and three other men in the car. A 'strong odor' of marijuana was emanating from the vehicle, which kicked off a search.
Among the various items that deputies dug up: two stolen loaded 9mm handguns, two loaded extended magazines and about 22.5 grams of marijuana. One of the guns was connected to a theft from a car parked at a Florida Panthers game, the sheriff's office said.
Imagine holding a small apple, and you'll have a rough idea of what 20 grams resembles. The actual volume can vary based on the density and moisture content of the cannabis.
Denser buds will take up less space than fluffier ones. So, even if the scale says 20 grams, two batches might look quite different.
Deputies eventually learned Fields doesn't own a valid driver's license and was not allowed to have a gun due to a previous protection order stemming from an argument with his girlfriend.
Isaiah Dimitris McCrary, a 20-year-old who was in the car, had a previous run-in with the police when he was a teenager from a 2021 robbery in Palm Beach County, to which he pleaded guilty, the sheriff's office said.
All four men in the car were arrested and charged.
Fields is facing charges of driving without a valid driver's license, grand theft of a firearm, possession of a firearm or ammunition while being the subject of a risk protection order, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
McCrary, from West Palm Beach, faces grand theft of a firearm, possession of a firearm by a Florida delinquent, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Jimmy Cliff Leger, 21, of Palm Springs, faces possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Todd Bradley Presendieu, 20, from Lake Worth, faces possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
As of Sunday night, all four remained in jail.
