[PHOTO CREDIT: Lake County Sheriff’s Office]
[Original Publish Date: 11/23/19]
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LEESBURG, Florida — A Eustis man out on bond for four Orange County charges including vehicular homicide has been charged in Lake County with trafficking in methamphetamine following a traffic stop Tuesday.
According to an arrest report, Lake County Sheriff’s Sgt. Cameron Crews saw a vehicle run a stop sign at Harbor Shores Road and County Road 44. Crews initiated a traffic stop and the vehicle seemed to hesitate, he noted in the affidavit. Crews approached the vehicle and the driver’s door opened; Crews recognized the driver, Emmanuel Cazeau Jr., 36, a known drug distributor, Crews stated in the affidavit.
Cazeau provided Crews with his passport and stated he did not have his license. A driver license check revealed Cazeau was suspended and had been charged with driving while license suspended multiple times. Cazeau claimed he did not have knowledge of his license being suspended, but appeared deceptive, Crews noted.
While speaking with Cazeau, Crews noticed a yellow chamber safety clip for a firearm and the front seat passenger acting “extremely nervous.” Spilled beer and beer bottles were found on the backseat floorboard. Cazeau, was removed from the vehicle and Crews noticed Cazeau had large bulges in his pockets. Upon searching Cazeau, Crews found $1,710 in cash, a digital scale, a knife, a plastic baggie and a cell phone. A few other phones were found in his seat.
Crews questioned the passenger and told her he was concerned Cazeau may have given her something to hold, given his history, according to the affidavit. She seemed very upset and pulled a gallon-sized bag out of her purse filled with a “crystal-like” substance, later confirmed to be methamphetamine, and told Crews Cazeau told her to hide it. The bag weighed 35.4 oz – which is 1,004 grams.
Cazeau was arrested and charged with trafficking in methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving on a suspended license. He was released from the Lake County Jail on $27,000 bond. The bond, which some may consider low, deviates from the circuit-wide Administrative Order (A-2014-12-A) which establishes a bail schedule. According to that order, trafficking in methamphetamine over 200 grams carries a $100,000 bond. Lake Legal News asked LCSO Sgt. Fred Jones why the bond was so low, and was told, “There was a miscommunication between Crews and booking, and that is why it was set at $25,000,” Jones said in an email. “When Crews requested the amount for the first degree felony he was told $25,000, which is standard for a first degree felony. The miscommunication was the right bond not given.”
Cazeau is out on bond in an Orange County case accusing him of vehicular homicide failing to render aid, leaving the scene of a crash with death, leaving the scene of a crash with serious bodily injury and reckless driving with bodily injury. According to the probable cause affidavit in that case, on April 1, Cazeau ran a stop sign (the same infraction that caused him to be pulled over in the Lake County case) at West Michael Gladden Avenue and Hawthorne Avenue in Apopka and he struck a vehicle with two occupants, killing the passenger and critically injuring the driver. He and another male fled the scene before law enforcement arrived.
Upon searching the vehicle, an Apopka Police officer found powder cocaine, crack cocaine, Oxycodone, Molly, and Alprazolam. The deployed airbags were taken from the vehicle and sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for testing. The tests later revealed Cazeau as the driver. He was arrested in Lake County on Oct. 1, transferred to Orange County and released on $15,450 bond.
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Our Editor-in-Chief, Marilyn M. Aciego, began writing for Lake Legal News in 2010. In addition, she has made more than two dozen appearances on live national television, including Nancy Grace and the Greta Van Susteren show, along with her appearance on Evil Twins. Contact her with breaking news, tips, and feedback by sending an e-mail to 352Tips@gmail.com. You can also contact us on our Facebook page — and make sure you “Like” and “Follow us” there. [PHOTO CREDIT: Bonnie Whicher]
