TAVERINER — A 48-year-old Miami accused of possessing a handgun and a felony amount of marijuana was arrested Thursday night, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
Ulises Curbelo was charged with possession of a felony amount of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance and possession of a firearm while committing a felony. He also received citations for violating the move-over law.
Traffic Enforcement Deputy Shaun Lones was on patrol at 11:30 a.m. when he spotted a black Ford truck southbound at Mile Marker 93.5. Another deputy was on a traffic stop on the side of the road with his emergency lights activated. The black truck traveled past the traffic stop location without moving over or slowing down, as required by the Florida Move Over law, reports say.
A third deputy was also on a traffic stop nearby when the black truck again failed to move over or slow down. At that point, Deputy Lones turned on his lights and siren to pull over the truck at Mile Marker 92.5, reports say.
When the driver, later identified as Curbelo, rolled down his driver’s side window, Deputy Lones could smell the odor of burnt marijuana coming from inside. When he asked Curbelo about it, Curbelo admitted to smoking marijuana earlier, and he turned over the remnants of a marijuana cigarette to the deputy, reports say.
A K9 alerted indicating the presence of more drugs inside the truck. More marijuana was then found inside in a number of different locations, reports say. An electronic cigarette and two cartridges for it with THC inside were also located.
A loaded .380 Ruger within reach of the driver was also found, reports say.
Curbelo was taken to the Monroe County Detention Center on Stock Island.
Information in the Crime Report is obtained from reports provided by area law enforcement agencies.
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