Staff Report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Tamaris Lorenzo Roberson, 25, found himself back in custody yesterday following an arrest for drug sales, despite already being on pre-trial release for a similar offense from May.

On the evening of December 9, around 6:30 p.m., a deputy from the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office pulled over a vehicle due to its windows appearing excessively tinted. The tint was measured at just 1%, significantly below the legal requirement of 28% transparency.

The deputy reported detecting a strong smell of burnt marijuana emanating from the car. Upon inspection, he noticed marijuana residue, often referred to as “shake,” inside the vehicle, along with a box of empty baggies on the rear seat.

When Roberson protested against the search, the deputy clarified he had seen marijuana in plain sight. In response, Roberson presented his medical marijuana card, claimed all the marijuana was legal, and admitted to having smoked inside the car earlier that day.

The deputy reported that the smell of burnt marijuana, the “shake” in plain view, and Roberson’s statement that he had smoked in the vehicle earlier provided probable cause to search the vehicle. The search reportedly produced a bag containing 116 grams of marijuana, five additional bags containing a total of 59.5 grams of marijuana, four empty medical marijuana prescription bags labeled with Roberson’s name, a scale, a sealed bottle of promethazine hydrochloride oral solution, and over $900 in cash (mostly $20 bills). The marijuana was reportedly prepackaged in common weights for street sales.

Post Miranda, Roberson reportedly said that only 14 grams of the marijuana was purchased from a dispensary and that he was selling the marijuana and the promethazine.

Roberson has been charged with maintaining a rented vehicle for the purpose of selling drugs, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, possession of a legend drug (promethazine) with intent to sell, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He has no criminal convictions but was arrested in May for possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell and possession of a concealed firearm during the commission of a felony and was released on $100,000 bail. Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $220,000 on the new charges.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.