Cops arrest Bradenton woman after finding 7 ounces of marijuana, money during traffic stop

A woman was arrested after deputies found more than 200 grams of marijuana and more than $1,700 in a vehicle during a traffic stop along Interstate 75 in Sarasota County on Monday.

Deputies with the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office responded to a crash on Interstate 75 at mile marker 189 in North Port just before 8 p.m. Monday when a vehicle passing by did not move over or slow down for the emergency vehicles at the scene, which had their lights on, according to the sheriff’s office.

A deputy pulled the vehicle over at mile marker 190 for a traffic stop.

When the driver, identified as 20-year-old Taylor Bennett, rolled down her window, the deputy noticed a strong smell of air freshener coming from the vehicle and the vehicle’s back seat was folded down, allowing access to the trunk. Bennett also handed the deputy an Indiana learner’s permit along with the vehicle’s information. A Bradenton address was listed on her arrest affidavit.

A second deputy approached Bennett while the first was writing two citations and noticed the vehicle’s back seat was now upright and no longer open, according to the sheriff’s office.

After she was given the citations and her information back, deputies asked Bennett to search her vehicle. She agreed, according to the affidavit.

Deputies found a backpack in the trunk and a jar with marijuana residue on the side where the back seat had been opened, the affidavit stated.

Inside the backpack was a scale, a jar filled with marijuana, a cup with marijuana residue inside, two pieces of mail, an open box of sandwich bags, and a total of $1,747 in bundles wrapped with hair ties. Deputies also found a check worth $250 written out to a person whose name also appeared on one of the pieces of mail.

Officials weighed the marijuana and found there to be 208.3 grams of marijuana — more than 7 ounces — in the vehicle.

Bennett was arrested and charged with one count of possession of marijuana with intent to sell. She was also cited for failure to move over and violation of her learner’s permit. Bennett was still being held in the Sarasota County jail Tuesday afternoon on a $1,500 bond.

January is “Move Over” month in Florida, and officials are working to remind drivers to move over a lane or slow down for emergency vehicles.

This story was originally published January 9, 2018 at 3:54 PM with the headline "Cops arrest Bradenton woman after finding 7 ounces of marijuana, money during traffic stop."