Telegraph Staff Writer
STARKE— A 33-year-old Bradford County man whom deputies pulled over for running a stop sign was sentenced to five years in prison after deputies found drugs and a stolen firearm in his vehicle.
Warren Mitriese Lee pleaded to possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, possession of cocaine, possession of a stolen weapon, driving with no valid driver’s license and possession of drug paraphernalia.
According to an arrest report, on June 9, 2023, Detective Andrew Johnson and Lt. Michael Sweeney were patrolling Northwest 177th Street in Pleasant Grove when they saw a Dodge Charger fail to come to a complete stop at the road’s intersection with State Road 16.
Lee was driving and had a female passenger in the car. When officers reached the vehicle, Lee told the pair he did not have a driver’s license and that he had a firearm inside the Dodge.
“During my conversation with Warren,” wrote Johnson, “I noticed a pungent odor of marijuana emanating from the aforementioned vehicle. I then asked both Warren and (the passenger) if either possessed a medical marijuana card, to which both stated ‘no.’”
The officers recovered the Hi-Point, .40-caliber rifle from the car, which had 10 rounds in its magazine and one in the chamber.
In addition to informing the deputies that the firearm in the car was reported stolen from Jacksonville, dispatchers said Lee had 13 prior felony convictions.
The defendant’s weapons charge carried a mandatory minimum sentence of three years.
According to a criminal punishment code scoresheet, Lee could have been sentenced to between 36 months and 26 years. In a plea agreement with the state, the defendant agreed to the five-year prison term with 48 days credit for time already served.
