Sarasota Man Caugth With Cocaine, Marijuana At Park: Cops

SARASOTA, FL — When Sarasota police officers happened to spot a man at Fredd Atkins Park handling a small container and then tossing it to the ground Friday night, they thought something was amiss.

When they checked out that container around 9 p.m. Jan. 6, their concerns were confirmed. Inside the container, they found “several small bags of packaged powder cocaine inside,” an email announcing the arrest of Rashad Johnson said.

Police say Johnson was also wearing a backpack as he stood near the park's gazebo. A check of the bag revealed a “large amount of marijuana along with several small clear plastic bags and a digital scale.”

Officers began testing the powdery substance they found in the container, but Johnson told them it wasn’t necessary, the email noted. He told them, “you don’t have to test it, it’s cocaine.”

All told, officers say they seized 16 individual bags of cocaine, 26 grams of marijuana and $960.50 in cash. They also found several empty baggies and a digital scale.

Johnson’s Friday arrest was announced on Tuesday, Jan. 10. He faces possession of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a park, possession of marijuana within 1,000 feet of a park and possession of drug paraphernalia charges, the police department said.

Photos courtesy of the Sarasota Police Department