A 40-year-old Village of Silver Lake man was arrested after he was found to be in possession of marijuana and cocaine during a traffic stop in The Villages.
Edward Merced Jr. was driving a white Chrysler Sebring at 6:32 a.m. Thursday on Morse Boulevard at San Juan Drive when he was pulled over for not having a license plate on the vehicle, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.
During the traffic stop, the Dustin Drive resident claimed his license plate had been stolen the previous day. He admitted his driver’s license has been suspended.
A search of a large plastic cooler in the vehicle turned up a Marlboro cigarette pack which contained a plastic bag which held cocaine. The cigarette pack also contained a marijuana cigar. Also found in the cooler was a black sock which contained three syringes.
He claimed the syringes “belong to some girls he was with last night and he only snorts cocaine,” the arrest report said.
Merced was arrested on a felony charge of cocaine possession and a misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession as well as charges of driving while license suspended and failure to register a motor vehicle.
He was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center and released after posting $6,500 bond.
