The Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog
The patron of a McDonald’s drive-thru who allegedly tried to pay for his food with cannabis had his munchie-run go up in smoke when the manager alerted the authorities about the attempted deal.
A little after 1:00 am, a manager working the drive-thru at a Port St. Lucie McDonald’s reportedly encountered a customer in a gray Pontiac with a surfboard sticking out of the back window of the vehicle. When the man drove up to the window to collect his food he allegedly tried to hand the manager a plastic bag with “a green leafy substance” inside of it, as stated in the affidavit.
The manager believed that the baggie contained marijuana and that the man driving the vehicle was trying to use the drugs in lieu of traditional means of payment for his food order.
After refusing the plastic bag and its contents the manager called 911 to report what allegedly occurred.
The police looked around the restaurant’s parking lot but they did not see a vehicle matching the description of the one that the manager had reported. One of the officers decided to park in a nearby lot in an attempt to locate the suspect, and within approximately half an hour a vehicle fitting the description of the one reported returned to the McDonald’s drive-thru.
When the officer who was still stationed close by returned to the restaurant the vehicle was in the drive-thru lane and he approached the driver.
When he came near the vehicle the officer reported that he smelled marijuana and upon visual inspection of the driver he believed that the man was under the influence.
The driver, identified as 23-year-old Anthony Gallagher, complied with the officer when he was asked to get out of the car. The officer performed a pat-down inspection on him and allegedly found a plastic bag with what was suspected to be marijuana inside. When the officer looked inside of the car, which was said to have been rather unkempt, he allegedly saw some more “loose cannabis” in the center console.
The authorities reported that Gallagher allegedly stated that he had was only joking when he tried to hand the manager the baggie instead of paying for the food. He was taken to the county jail where he was charged for suspicion of possession of marijuana, and DUI.
If you or someone you love is suspected of a drug crime, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.