He had pounds of marijuana, guns and cocaine, cops say. Now, he’s facing trafficking charges

A convicted felon is facing more charges after what the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office called a “major drug trafficking arrest” in a news release issued Thursday night.

Officials with the Special Investigations Unit and the SWAT team of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant Thursday at a home in the 5700 block of Seventh Street East in Bradenton where Robert Harrell, 28, was staying, according to the sheriff’s office.

The search of the home yielded a “couple of pounds of marijuana, cocaine, and firearms,” according to the sheriff’s office.

Harrell had left the home before the search warrant was executed, but deputies Thursday afternoon spotted the suspect driving a vehicle. When officials attempted to pull him over during a traffic stop, he did not pull over, according to the sheriff’s office.

Officials kept the vehicle under surveillance, but did not give chase. Harrell eventually got out of the vehicle and took off on foot, throwing items from the vehicle into the ditch as he ran, the sheriff’s office said.

A police dog was used to help apprehend Harrell. He suffered a minor dog bite as a result, according to the sheriff’s office.

Items allegedly thrown by Harrell as he fled included “trafficking” amounts of cocaine, “a felony amount” of marijuana, a firearm and cash, according to the sheriff’s office.

Harrell is charged with armed trafficking in cocaine, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of marijuana with intent to sell.

He has been arrested on drugs and weapons charges before and is a convicted felon, according to Manatee County jail records.

This story was originally published April 27, 2017 at 9:54 PM with the headline "He had pounds of marijuana, guns and cocaine, cops say. Now, he’s facing trafficking charges."