The Haines City Police Department was conducting a regular patrol and pulled over a vehicle in the area of Hwy 27 & Commerce Avenue. The stop ended with the arrest of Arvel McConnell(W/M 07/08/1957) and Ashley Wilson (W/F 06/04/1995) for various traffic violations, parole violations and drug possession with intent to sell.
The following is a long exerpt from the arrest affidavit (It should be noted that this is an unedited report of facts by Law Enforcement. These facts are up for question and everyone is entitled to question the validity of facts by law enforcement in a court of law. The Daily Ridge does not rewrite these facts as some meanings or interpretations could be in error and change context. We hope readers appreciate being able to read the information and come to their own understanding and conclusions) :
On April 14, 2024, at approximately 1612hours, while patrolling the vicinity of Highway 27 and Commerce Avenue in Haines City, I noticed a burgundy Dodge Charger approaching behind my unmarked patrol vehicle. Glancing through my rearview mirror, I observed that both the male driver and thefront seat passenger were not wearing seat belts. As the vehicles proceeded southbound on Highway 27, I maneuvered my vehicle behind the Dodge and noted its temporary tag as DNV7368, which did not return any vehicle information upon query. Concurrently, I paced the Dodge at 63 miles per hour in a 45-mile-per-hour zone.Consequently, I initiated a traffic stop near Highway 27 and Masters Drive.
Upon approaching the vehicle, I identified the driver as Arvel McConnell(W/M 07/08/1957) through his South Carolina Driver’s License. McConnell claimed to be test-driving the vehicle and admitted to lacking registration paperwork. Subsequently, the front seat passenger, Ashley Wilson (W/F 06/04/1995),and the back-seat passenger voluntarily provided their identification.
As Officer Vasquez engaged with the occupants, hedetected theodor of cannabis emanating from the vehicle. During the interaction, Wilson denied ownership of certain bags, one of which contained a medium-sized bag of suspected methamphetamine found inside an eyeglasses case she (Ashley) opened without being asked. Following this discovery, all occupants were removed from the vehicle, and a thorough search ensued.
I discovered a package of 305 cigarettes in the front passenger compartment containing suspected methamphetamine. Officer Goodson uncovered another package of cigarettes in the rear passenger area containing suspected cannabis.
In a post-Miranda interview conducted by Officer Vasquez, McConnell claimed possession of both methamphetamine bags, specifying an estimated weight of 10 grams for one of them.
A check via FCIC/NCIC revealed Wilson to b eon active felony probation, with stipulations prohibiting association with criminal activity or visiting places where illegal substances are used or distributed. Despite another occupant’s claim of ownership, Wilson’s physical possession of a significant quantity of methamphetamine during the traffic stop constituted a violation of her probation terms.
McConnell and Wilson were arrested and transportedto the Haines City Police Department, while the third passenger was released.
At the Haines City Police Department, I conducted a thorough weighing of both themethamphetamine and the cannabis. The raw weight of the cannabis amounted to 5.1 grams. Meanwhile, the bag containing methamphetamine found inside the glasses case weighed in at 10.7 grams. Additionally, the bag discovered within the 305 packages had a raw weight of 2.3 grams, bringing the total raw weight of methamphetamine to 13 grams. Notably, two empty new plastic bags were also present. Drawing from my trainingand experience, I’m aware that narcotics dealers commonly keep unused bags alongside larger quantities of narcotics to facilitate distribution. Furthermore, possessing 13 grams of Methamphetamine is atypical for a casual narcotics user, as it falls just shy of the trafficking threshold. Typically, individuals involved in narcotics distribution transport such quantities for the purpose of selling the narcotics
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Based on the evidence, I have probable cause to charge McConnell with possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell, possession of cannabis under 20 grams, possession of drug paraphernalia, and keep/shop vehicle first offense. Wilson was charged with one count of violation of probation.
