A Citrus Springs man and a Morriston woman were arrested on drug charges after a traffic stop in Dunnellon last Thursday night.
According to a Marion County Sheriff’s Office report, a deputy pulled over a Toyota Matrix that was weaving along Hwy. 41, almost crossing into the grass shoulder and then straddling the white fog line for approximately 500 yards. The driver, Derek John Side, 29, had what appeared to be a cut plastic straw in his lap and the deputy detected the slight odor of burnt marijuana emitting from the vehicle, a sheriff’s office report states.
After being asked to exit the vehicle, Side told the deputy there was a marijuana bowl and possibly some loose marijuana in it. Before getting out of the car, passenger Lindsey Renee Aery, 27, pulled out a multicolored glass pipe and laid it on the driver’s seat.
A probable cause search turned up two plastic containers covered with white powder residue – one in the center console cup holder and the other in Aery’s bag. Both containers tested positive for cocaine, as did a small digital scale that was found in the vehicle. Also found was a small white rock substance that also tested positive for cocaine, and two grinders that contained a green plant residue that tested positive for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, the report says.
Side said the grinders and glass pipe were his and he used them to inhale marijuana, which he said he knows is illegal. Both Side and Aery said the cocaine must have belonged to Aery’s sister, who had recently been in the vehicle. Aery told the deputy it would probably test positive for cocaine, the report says.
Aery was charged with possession of cocaine and possession and/or use of drug equipment, while Side was charged with possession and/or use of drug equipment. Both were taken to the Marion County Jail, where Aery was released on $1,100 bond and Side was released on $1,000 bond. Aery’s next appearance in Marion County Court is set for Feb. 26. No court date was set for Side.