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Friday, March 29, 2024

Tractor-driving Dunnellon man jailed after admitting to smoking cocaine

Chester Houston
Chester Houston

A Dunnellon man who was driving an orange Kubota tractor on a major Marion County road was jailed recently on DUI and drug charges.

A Marion County sheriff’s deputy stopped 58-year-old Chester Houston on S.W. 196th Avenue. Houston, who had been warned in the past against illegally driving the tractor on roadways, told the deputy he was headed to a nearby store to get drinks, a sheriff’s office report states.

While speaking with Houston, the deputy noticed a white sponge-like substance on the rear tire of the tractor. Houston said the substance was cocaine, which he had just smoked out of a round glass pipe. After the substance tested positive for cocaine, Houston was placed under arrest, the report says.

The deputy noted that Houston was slurring his words and appeared to sway while standing and walking. After arriving at the Marion County Jail, Houston  agreed to participate in field sobriety exercises, which he struggled through. He also agreed to provide a breath sample, which showed no blood-alcohol content. The deputy told Houston that he believed he was under the influence of a narcotic and he provided a urine sample, the report says.

A criminal history showed that Houston had one prior DUI conviction in August 1983 from Columbia County. He was then charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, possession of cocaine and possession and/or use of drug equipment. He was being held on $5,000 bond and is due in court May 18 at 9 a.m., jail records show.