Loitering Call Leads To Meth Trafficking Arrest

SARASOTA, FL — A 35-year-old Sarasota man faces criminal charges after a call about someone loitering in a Publix parking lot came in late Tuesday night. The man, deputies say, not only had methamphetamine on him, but was also behind the wheel of a car reported stolen out of Manatee County.

According to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched to 3690 Bee Ridge Road around 11 p.m. Jan. 17 to answer the loitering complaint. When they arrived, they spoke with George E. Dunn, who told them he was in the parking lot so he could use the store’s internet connection, an arrest report said.

As deputies were talking with Dunn, dispatch told them the car he was in was stolen. At that point, deputies arrested him. When they searched the car, they found “a medium size clear bag with a decent amount of crystal like substance inside with what it appeared to be Methamphetamine on the driver side door storage,” the report said. That bag, the report noted, contained 22.7 grams of meth.

Deputies also found drug paraphernalia, including a pipe and needles.

Dunn was charged with grand theft auto, trafficking in methamphetamine and possession of narcotics equipment. He was being held without bond in the Sarasota County Jail Wednesday.

Booking photo courtesy of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office