Alachua County, FL – A traffic stop on Interstate 75 in Alachua County led to the arrest of a passenger on drug trafficking charges after deputies allegedly discovered a trafficking amount of a prescription-only controlled substance inside the vehicle.
According to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy conducted a traffic stop during the afternoon of Thursday, July 16, on a black Nissan traveling southbound on Interstate 75 near mile marker 380 for a traffic violation.
Authorities said the driver, Willie Hutchinson, 29, was identified as a habitual traffic offender whose driver’s license had been revoked. He was taken into custody and charged with driving while license suspended.
According to the sheriff’s office, deputies then made contact with the front-seat passenger, Alex Williams, 24, and observed an open container of alcohol and marijuana in plain view inside the vehicle. Williams allegedly told deputies he did not possess a medical marijuana card and that he and Hutchinson had smoked marijuana earlier.
Investigators said a probable cause search of the vehicle uncovered a 16-ounce bottle of promethazine hydrochloride and codeine phosphate oral solution, a prescription-only controlled substance. According to the sheriff’s office, the amount exceeded Florida’s trafficking threshold by hundreds.
Authorities allege the controlled substance and the vehicle belonged to Williams.
Williams was arrested and charged with trafficking in hydrocodone (28 grams or more) and owning a vehicle known to traffic drugs, according to the sheriff’s office.
The allegations remain pending in court, and both defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
