A 21-year-old Ocala man was charged with a fourth offense of driving with a suspended license after being pulled over in Belleview while driving a vehicle with an expired registration.
A Belleview Police officer was conducting computer checks of vehicle license plates Sunday afternoon in the 10900 block of South Highway 441 when the tag attached to a while Buick sedan came back as expired. The officer conducted a traffic stop in the parking lot of the Jade Pagoda restaurant, 10915 S. Hwy. 441, according to the police report.
The driver of the vehicle – 21-year-old Stephon A. Bagley, of 1118 SW 5th Street in Ocala – told the officer he doesn’t own the vehicle and provided the name of the owner. When asked for his driver’s license, Bagley said he didn’t have it in his possession and admitted he knew it was not valid, the report said.
The officer ran Bagley’s information through the Driver and Vehicle Information Database (DAVID) and received confirmation his license has been revoked since Nov. 6, 2018. A further look at Bagley’s driving history shows he has three prior suspensions on his driving history from 2015, 2016, and 2018, according to the report.
The officer detected the strong odor of what smelled like marijuana emitting from the vehicle. A search of the vehicle turned up a nearly empty bottle of Hennessy Cognac on the floorboard behind the driver’s seat and two unused plastic baggies in the rear left passenger seat. Bagley said the liquor bottle was already in the vehicle when he took possession of it. The bags didn’t contain any residue and appeared to be unused, the report said.
Bagley was charged with driving with a suspended license (third or subsequent offense) and taken to the Marion County Jail, where he was released later in the day on $1,000 bond.