Deputy checks on driver, walks away with meth

A deputy pulled over early Monday morning to help out what he believed was a stranded motorist.

He left the intersection of Lake Lindsey Road and Ponce De Leon Boulevard with an arrestee, three grams of methamphetamine and a .38 caliber revolver.

The incident began around 1 a.m. when a sergeant called for a traffic deputy to assess the driver of the car, Joshua Hope. Field sobriety tests revealed some level of impairment, but the traffic deputy did not feel Hope met DUI criteria.

Hope, 24, called a friend in Inglis to take him home - about an hour away. The suspect denied deputies permission to search his car, but a drug-sniffing dog reportedly indicated there were narcotics in a safe on the floorboard.

The safe was opened and deputies say they found the meth and gun inside. Hope was charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.