A 20-year-old homeless man was jailed Wednesday afternoon on multiple charges after he tried to run from Ocala Police officers.
The officers were on foot patrol at the Berkeley Pointe Apartments, located at 2833 NE 7th St. in Ocala, when they were advised by a dispatcher that a caller reported hearing two men talking about hiding a gun. The officers then made contact with the caller, who said the men were at the top of a staircase in Building 2837, a police report states.
Officers located the two men a short time later and asked if they lived in the area. They said they were visiting family and didn’t have any identification. Officers then asked them if they could pat them down for weapons and they refused. They were then ordered to get on their get on their knees and face away from the officers, which they also failed to do, the report says.
One of the men reached into his pocket and was given commands to keep his hands visible. Both men then attempted to flee from the officers, but 20-year-old Joseph D. Jackson was immediately detained and handcuffed, the report says.
Jackson started to resist on the way to a patrol vehicle and attempted to flee. An officer managed to hold onto him as he reached into a pocket on his sweater and attempted to discard items. He was then searched and officers found a bottle of liquor, a bag of a green leafy substance presumed to be marijuana that weighed more than 20 grams, small baggies containing a brown rocky substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine, a baggie containing a white rocky substance that tested positive for heroin and a digital scale with a white residue on it, the report says, adding that Jackson refused to answer questions from the officers.
The other man got away after jumping from the second floor of the apartment building. A witness observed him fall to the ground and leave behind a Smith & Wesson .40-caliber handgun, which was recovered by officers.
Jackson was transported to the Marion County Jail and charged with resisting without violence and possession of heroin, MDMA, marijuana more than 20 grams and alcoholic beverages by a person under 21. He is being held on $20,000 bond and is due in court on Dec. 3 at 9 a.m. to answer to the charges.