Passenger In Car Charged With Drug Possession, Trafficking: Sarasota Police

SARASOTA, FL — A Sarasota man faces multiple felony charges after being found with drugs in the passenger seat of a car during a traffic stop last month, authorities said.

Officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle on Aug. 20 after the driver failed to stop at a stop sign near Adams Lane and East Avenue, the Sarasota Police Department said in a news release.

During the stop, a Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office deputy and K9 Gunnar responded to assist.

Both the driver and passenger were asked to get out of the vehicle while the K9 conducted an open-air sniff.

K9 Gunnar alerted positively to the vehicle, giving officers probable cause to search the car. Inside, officers located a black safe on the passenger side containing:

• six bags of suspected cocaine
• one bag of suspected Xanax
• one pill bottle containing suspected Xanax and oxycodone
• a metal spoon with residue
• a plastic bag containing small individual baggies
• a pen with a suspected THC capsule
• half of a suspected oxycodone pill
• an uncapped syringe under the passenger seat
• a backpack containing a small bag of suspected marijuana and a pipe

The front seat passenger, Josh Davis, 35, was arrested and taken to Sarasota police headquarters.

During an interview, Davis admitted to owning the safe containing the drugs and said the white powder inside, initially suspected to be cocaine, was fentanyl, police said.

On Sept. 18, controlled substance analysis confirmed the suspected cocaine tested positive for fentanyl, with a total weight of 89.57 grams.

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Davis was charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, manufacture or deliver, and one count of trafficking fentanyl over 28 grams.

He is being held at the Sarasota County Jail.