SWFL man with 17 prior convictions caught with meth during traffic stop

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA (WINK) — A 17-time convicted felon faces multiple charges after deputies say he threw a bag of methamphetamine out of a vehicle window during a traffic stop.

Jimmy Lundquist II was arrested after Deputy Pandolfi stopped a truck for speeding 53 mph in a 30 mph zone. The deputy saw Lundquist, who was a passenger in the vehicle, throw a small black item out of the window and into the woods.

Corporal Santana and K-9 Lucy arrived as backup and conducted a free-air sniff of the truck. K-9 Lucy alerted to the presence of narcotics near the passenger side door.

Deputies found a glass pipe with methamphetamine residue inside a backpack where Lundquist was sitting. Deputy Pandolfi also located a small black bag on the ground not far from the truck.

The bag contained 23.74 grams of methamphetamine, 0.22 grams of cocaine, 2.54 grams of marijuana and 18 individually packaged strips of Suboxone. The methamphetamine alone weighed enough to trigger trafficking charges.

Lundquist was arrested and charged with trafficking in amphetamines or methamphetamine, two counts of possession of a controlled substance without prescription, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, possession of marijuana less than 20 grams and possession of drug paraphernalia. The trafficking charge and both controlled substance possession charges are felonies.

Sheriff Potter praised the deputies and K-9s who work to keep drugs out of the community.