Drug dealer caught in the act of bagging fentanyl for sale, cops say. He was at Red Lobster

Jeremy Coronel, 39, was at the Red Lobster restaurant in the 5700 block of 14th Street West on Sept. 6 just after 4:30 p.m., but Manatee County sheriff’s deputies say he wasn’t there to eat.

According to the arrest report, deputies responded to a call about someone possibly using drugs inside their vehicle in the parking lot and . Responding deputies saw Coronel with “his arms down in his lap like he was messing with something.”

A deputy saw a knife in Coronel’s hand that he was using to cut up what later tested positive as fentanyl, deputies say.

Deputies say Coronel was using the glass on his cellphone to cut the drug and was placing some of the 1.3 grams into small baggies commonly used to package illegal drugs.

Coronel was booked into the Manatee County jail and charged with possession of fentanyl with intent to sell.