An Ocala man was arrested on drug charges early Tuesday morning after running a stop sign.
A Marion County sheriff’s deputy stopped 69-year-old Curtis Dwight Graves at 1:40 a.m. after witnessing his Chrysler 300 fail to come to a stop in the 3300 block of South Pine after exiting the nearby Queen’s Garden Resort. A short time later, a sheriff’s K-9 alerted on the car and Graves was asked to exit his vehicle, a sheriff’s office report states.
Graves told deputies that they were not to search his car, and when asked to step away from the vehicle, he refused. He was then detained so the traffic stop investigation could continue, the report says.
A short time later, deputies found a black bag on the passenger-side floorboard that contained a black cell phone and a charger. On top of the cell phone charger was a large white rock-like substance that tested positive for cocaine. A black glasses case was found inside the bag that contained a glass pipe, copper Brillo pads and a clear baggie containing a white powdery substance that also tested positive for cocaine, the report says.
Graves refused to answer any questions and was transported to the Marion County Jail, where he was charged with possession of cocaine and drug equipment. He was being held on $3,000 bond and is due to appear in a Marion County courtroom on Nov. 27 at 9 a.m. to answer to the charges.
Graves is no stranger to the Marion County legal system, having spent time in the jail in 2007 and 2008. On Oct. 26, 2007, he was charged with domestic battery. And the following May he was back in the jail on another domestic violence charge and for violating his probation on the earlier charge.