AUBURNDALE, Fla. (WFLA) — An Auburndale man was arrested Tuesday at the entrance of a Polk County middle school after a Florida Highway Patrol trooper found him in possession of marijuana.

Just after noon, a trooper pulled over a vehicle with darkly tinted windows traveling southbound on Berkley Road in Auburndale. The driver came to a stop at the entrance of Berkley Accelerated Middle School.

The trooper smelled a strong odor of “burnt and raw marijuana” coming from the vehicle, driven by 23-year-old Zaylen Drasdo. The driver could not hand over his driver’s license or his alleged medical marijuana card because his wallet was stolen last week, he claimed.

Drasdo denied smoking the substance in the vehicle or having any hemp or marijuana inside.

When the trooper said he would search the vehicle, Drasdo uttered that “he knows he’s going to jail.”

Inside the vehicle, the trooper found two large bags containing 311.7 grams of marijuana, a scale, several clear plastic sandwich bags, a container labeled THC resin, 10 boxes of Liquid Diamon THC pens containing 45 THC pens (each labeled 90.12% THC), and $980 in cash.

The trooper asked Drasdo if he was selling marijuana to which he replied, “Yes, I’m not going to lie to you.” He then claimed it’s hard to get a job and that he’s been trying.

Drasdo was arrested on charges of possessing marijuana and drugs, distributing marijuana, and possessing drug equipment. He was taken to the Polk County Jail and is being held without bond.