A 40-year-old Ocala man was arrested on drug charges after being awakened on the ground behind a business on East Silver Springs Boulevard.
An Ocala Police officer responded Sunday to the report of a male who had been sleeping on the ground for approximately an hour. The man was moving but would not wake up when the complainant tried to rouse him, according to the OPD report.
The officer used a sternal rub to wake up the man, identified as 40-year-old Nathaniel Upchurch. When Upchurch woke up, he immediately went to pick up his cash that was lying on the ground next to him. As he moved the cash on the ground, the officer observed a small clear plastic bag containing a white crystal-like substance that appeared to be methamphetamine, the report said.
A search of Upchurch’s backpack turned up a small container that appeared to contain a gel-like body care substance but instead had a small white crystal-like substance in it. In Upchurch’s lunch box, between the hard plastic lining and soft shell, was a syringe full of a clear liquid substance. Another officer searched Upchurch’s person and found a clear plastic bag containing a white powdery substance with small white crystals and a small amount of a green leafy substance that appeared to be marijuana, according to the report.
Upchurch was taken to Ocala Regional Medical Center to be medically cleared before being taken to jail. When he was advised he was under arrest for possession of a controlled substance, Upchurch made several comments about his dislike of the laws pertaining to him possessing drugs. He said he wasn’t harming any other people and didn’t understand why he should be arrested, the report said.
The crystal-like substance tested positive for methamphetamine, the clear liquid substance tested positive for heroin, and the green leafy substance tested positive for marijuana. Upchurch was not charged with possession of marijuana because of the small amount, according to the report.
Upchurch was charged with possession of methamphetamine and possession of heroin and taken to the Marion County Jail, where he was being held Tuesday on $10,000 bond.