Bradenton man gets 17 years in prison. The cops found much meth, heroin and money

A Bradenton man was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for possessing 500 grams or more of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and was ordered to give up a gun and more than $20,000 as part of the court’s order.

Jarvis Rodrick Thomas, 43, of Bradenton, pleaded guilty to the charge on Sept. 5, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The charge traces back to June 26, 2016, when Thomas was stopped by a Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office deputy for driving with a suspended license, according to the release.

While the deputy investigated the traffic stop, Thomas threw a black bag from the car’s window. Thomas was arrested during the stop and a short time later, another sheriff’s office employee found the bag in a nearby Walgreens store parking lot. Security video from the store showed Thomas throwing the bag out of the window, according to the release.

Inside the bag, investigators found 20 small bags that held 69 grams of meth along with 45 small bags that held 3.8 grams of heroin, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Officials later learned that Thomas had more drugs in his Bradenton home. During a search, detectives with the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office together with the Bradenton Police Department found more than 1,000 grams of meth, 29 grams of heroin, a loaded .25-caliber Beretta handgun and $23,486 in cash.

Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Thomas was sentenced to 17 years and six months in federal prison and was ordered to forfeit the firearm, seven rounds of ammunition and the more than $23,000 that officials traced as proceeds from the incident.

This story was originally published January 9, 2018 at 12:54 PM with the headline "Bradenton man gets 17 years in prison. The cops found much meth, heroin and money."