Carson Zorn
•7/21/2026
A Charlotte County traffic stop led to the arrest of a convicted felon who deputies said had more than half a pound of meth and a gun.
According to the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, on July 18 at around 2:30 p.m., a deputy saw a vehicle commit a traffic infraction, which resulted in the deputy conducting a traffic stop.
The driver of the vehicle was identified as Mark Anthony Johnson, 45, CCSO said. Johnson has arrests in Charlotte County dating back to 2000.
The deputy asked Johnson if any drugs or weapons were present in the vehicle; Johnson said there were not, CCSO said. A K9 Unit conducted a free air sniff of Johnson's vehicle and alerted the deputy to the presence of drugs.
[image id='d8853f73-7695-4c10-a881-2369ffe771f4' mediaId='57056da7-0dc4-48a0-829f-076bd42b9170' align='center' size='medium' share='true' caption='' expand='' crop='original'][/image]Johnson's vehicle was then searched. During the search, deputies located a brown backpack that contained two clear bags with a suspicious substance as well as a 9mm firearm, CCSO said. Deputies also located ammunition and an additional magazine for the firearm.
Deputies tested the suspicious substance and identified it as methamphetamine, CCSO said. The first bag weighed 111.5 grams and the second bag weighed 111 grams, totaling 222.5 grams of methamphetamine, which is a trafficking amount, according to CCSO.
[image id='207f5ff5-59b4-4ef5-92d9-ef3699a241ef' mediaId='d0975a7d-eb92-4dba-9cd3-cfd3628faceb' align='center' size='medium' share='true' caption='' expand='' crop='original'][/image]Johnson was arrested and faces charges of using a firearm while committing a felony, trafficking methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
"After more than 30 years in law enforcement, it still baffles me that people think they can get away with this in Charlotte County," Sheriff Bill Prummell said. "We have made it clear that it will not be tolerated. My deputies are not slowing down their efforts to keep this poison out of our community. This individual will face the consequences – again – for his poor decisions. This was another great catch for my STAR team."
