A 29-year-old Silver Springs man was arrested after crashing a stolen vehicle, fleeing the scene of the accident, and swallowing fentanyl.
On Thursday, December 30, an Ocala Police Department officer was near the 4900 block of E Silver Springs Boulevard in Ocala in reference to locating individuals who were involved in a traffic crash with injuries.
At the intersection of NE 24th Place and NE 48th Court, the officer located two people who matched the description that was provided by a witness at the scene of the crash.
A man, later identified as Zachary Robert Adams, was spotted in the wooded area along the south side of the road, and he was ingesting a substance from a small plastic baggie.
A female was also observed near Adams.
The officer approached Adams and requested that he stop ingesting the substance. Adams initially ignored the request, swallowed more of the baggie’s contents, and then he complied with the officer’s instructions to get on the ground.
Once Adams was detained, he told the officer that he had ingested “a little bit of weed,” and he admitted that the vehicle he was in during the crash was stolen.
The officer questioned Adams about the substance he ingested, and he eventually admitted that it was cocaine.
A field-test was conducted on the gray powdery substance inside of the baggie and the presence of cocaine and fentanyl was detected.
Marion County Fire Rescue transported Adams to AdventHealth Ocala for treatment of preexisting injuries and due to the fentanyl ingestion. At the hospital, Adams admitted that he had ingested around half a gram of fentanyl.
After treatment at the hospital, Adams was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail where he is currently being held on $16,000 bond.
Adams is facing felony charges for theft of a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of a crash with injuries, possession of a controlled substance, tampering with evidence, and driving with a suspended license.
A court date has been scheduled on Tuesday, February 1 at 9 a.m., according to jail records.
The MCSO report indicated that the female seen with Adams was detained and later released, and she is not facing any charges.