Traffic stop leads to gun, drug charges

A traffic stop on Grassy Key overnight resulted in three arrests. Two of those arrested had handguns in their possession – one had been recently stolen – and deputies found drugs in the car as well.

Deputy Daniel Hill was on patrol when he saw a Toyota Camry parked at the Grassy Key Marina with its lights on, pointed toward the building. Due to recent marine thefts in the area, he decided to see what the vehicle was doing there. As he turned toward the vehicle, it sped away southbound on U.S. One. He stopped the vehicle a short distance away. There were four people inside. Deputies Seth Hopp and Mario Benedetti arrived on the scene to back him up.

As the deputies approached the vehicle, the occupants rolled down the windows and the deputies could clearly smell the odor or marijuana coming from inside. The occupants were all asked to exit the vehicle. They were identified as four Marathon residents: 20 year old Thomas Lancaster, 18 year old Melissa Yeatman, 23 year old Dustin Pelletier and 20 year old Marvin Hernandez.

Pelletier had a Taurus revolver tucked in his waistband. Hernandez had a Glock 42 handgun in his waistband. The Glock had been reported stolen from a Sugarloaf Key man’s vehicle on June 21st. The gun theft victim reported the gun was in his center console. He last saw it the night of the 20th. He went to dinner in Key West and then parked the car at his Sugarloaf Key home. He said he does not remember if he locked the car or not, but there was no damage to the vehicle when he discovered the gun was missing.

A search of the vehicle turned up marijuana, an e-cigarette with hash oil in it and a crow bar under the front seat. Only one person – Lancaster – had a legal driver’s license and he was one of the passengers in the car. The car was registered to Lancaster.  Yeatman told the deputies all the drugs in the car were hers.

Lancaster was released with no charges and drove away in his vehicle. Yeatman was charged with possession of marijuana, hash oil and drug paraphernalia. Pelletier was charged with carrying a concealed firearm. Hernandez was charged with driving with no license, carrying a concealed firearm, grand theft of a firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

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