Florida man faces multiple local drug charges

September 7, 2006

HUNTSVILLE — A Florida man faces multiple drug charges in Scott County after deputies conducting a routine traffic stop discovered drugs and loaded handguns in his possession.

According to Sheriff Anthony Lay, Jamie Johnson, age 26, of Tampa, Florida, was stopped by Deputy Wesley Byrge on U.S. Highway 27 near Helenwood Foods shortly after 5 a.m. Saturday morning. Upon searching Johnson’s vehicle, Deputy Byrge discovered an ounce of marijuana and “several rolled sheets” of LSD. Byrge and Deputy Joel Martin, who assisted at the scene, also seized $1,789 in cash, a fully-loaded Glock .45 handgun, a fully-loaded Kel-Tec .32 handgun, several boxes of ammunition and Johnson’s van.

“LSD is otherwise known as acid, and it’s a drug very rarely found in Scott County,” Sheriff Lay said. “(But) the drug is very well-known in the Florida area.”

Lay said that the drug bust, which occurred some 53 hours after his administration took over at 12:01 a.m. Friday morning, was the beginning of what he terms a “crackdown” on drugs.

“I promised the people that drugs would be the number one issue of enforcement for our department, and I think we’re off to a wonderful start,” Lay said. “As I promised, we are going to crack down on narcotics.

“I would like to commend Deputy Byrge for his efforts and for an outstanding traffic stop that lead to the confiscation of these drugs,” Lay added. “I also want to commend Deputy Martin for assisting fully with the traffic stop.”

Johnson faces charges of Possession of a Schedule IV drug, Possession of a Schedule VII drug, Possession of a Schedule VIII drug and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

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