Major Meth Trafficker Found Guilty

BAY COUNTY, FL - A suspected drug dealer who was stopped for speeding while under surveillance was found guilty Wednesday of Trafficking in Methamphetamine (more than 200 grams), State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Circuit Court Judge Brantley Clark sentenced Marcus Arnold, who was on probation for felony Domestic Violence by Strangulation at the time of the offense, to 20 years in prison. Prosecutor Frank Sullivan said 15 years of that is minimum-mandatory under Florida’s enhanced drug trafficking laws.

Jurors deliberated for about 30 minutes.

“This is a good win for the people of Bay County, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office investigators who put this case together, and our office,” Sullivan said. “The arrest kept 8½ ounces of methamphetamine off our streets, and the guilty verdict will keep this defendant and his poison away from our community for a long time.”

Sullivan called witnesses and put on evidence showing the defendant was under surveillance by Bay County sheriff’s deputies on April 6, 2022. The driver of the car he was a passenger in was pulled over for speeding near Lake Drive and S. Tyndall Parkway.

Inv. Doug Cummings deployed his K-9 Fila for a free-air sniff around the car, and Fila alerted for the presence of narcotics in the vehicle. A probable cause search uncovered 9 clear baggies of methamphetamine inside a grocery bag behind the driver’s seat. The defendant claimed ownership of the contents of the bag.