A pair of Ocala men gave phony names to law enforcement while one of them was being arrested on drug charges during a traffic stop Monday night on Emerald Run.
Robert Wayne Manning, 24, of 8741 SE 79th Ave. Road, was charged with possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana, giving a false name to law enforcement, and violating his probation on a prior marijuana possession conviction. Ze’Moye Thyree Brown, 23, of 8821 SE 79th Ave. Road, was charged with giving a false name to law enforcement and picked up on a couple of outstanding warrants.
Manning was a back-seat passenger and Brown was in the front passenger seat of a white 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee that ran a red light at SE Maricamp Road and SE Emerald Road. The Marion County sheriff’s deputy who conducted the traffic stop could smell the odor of raw marijuana emitting from the vehicle as he approached it, according to the sheriff’s office report.
The deputy asked Manning his name and he replied it was “Robert Jim Brown” and gave a phony birth date. Although a records search didn’t return that name, Manning continued to insist it was him. When the officer asked if he had anything illegal on him, Manning said he had marijuana in his front-right pants pocket. The deputy then removed a medium-sized clear baggie containing a substance that field-tested positive for THC content. After some time passed, Manning admitted he gave a false name to the deputy and provided his real name, the report said.
Brown told the deputy his name was “Jake Barnes” and he had no middle name. When asked for his social security number, he said he didn’t know it. He further said he was from Mississippi, had only been in Florida for a couple months and he had no Florida driver’s license or ID card. After being told his name couldn’t be found in a records search, Brown admitted his real name. He said he gave the false name because he believed he had an active warrant, which he did, according to the report.
Manning is being held in the Marion County Jail until the end of his sentence on May 26. Brown is being held on $4,000 bond and will appear in Marion County Court on March 18.