Illegal U-turn lands a trio in jail on drug charges

An illegal U-turn landed three Sarasota 23-year-olds in jail on drug charges, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office.

About 12:36 a.m. Thursday, the driver of a silver Toyota made a U-turn from the intersection of northbound Honore Avenue and Clark Road to head back south on Honore Avenue. According to the probable cause affidavit, there are no U-turns allowed, and a traffic stop was conducted.

The three occupants, driver Jeremy Lorber and passengers Lauren Bennett and Derek Parker, smelled like marijuana, the sheriff’s office reported. According to the affidavit, they had smoked earlier in the day.

After Lorber was found to be driving with a license that had been revoked since 2014, the car was searched. Deputies found 1.2 grams of heroin, a half gram of methamphetamine with a 10th of a gram inside a syringe, as well as a hydromorphone pill, more syringes, a metal pipe and two scales.

Since the drugs were within arm’s reach of the trio, all were charged with three counts of possession of a controlled substance and possession of narcotics equipment. Lorber had an additional charge of driving with a revoked license. Lorber and Parker were booked into the Sarasota County Jail on $11,200 and $5,000 bonds, respectively. Bennett was released Thursday on a $5,000 bond.

This story was originally published May 12, 2017 at 11:57 AM with the headline "Illegal U-turn lands a trio in jail on drug charges."