INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A 43-year-old driver with drugs in his pickup truck was arrested after law enforcement officials found him unconscious and blocking traffic at an intersection, deputies said.
Jason Todd Rice, of the 2500 block of 3rd Street SW, Vero Beach, was charged with failure to register motor vehicle and attaching a tag not assigned to vehicle. He also was given a variety of drug charges including three counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, possession of cocaine with intent to sell and possession of meth with intent to sell.
Jason Todd Rice
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY INDIAN RIVER COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Rice is being held at the Indian River County Jail on $61,500 bond.
Deputies responded to the scene about 5:30 p.m. Monday at the intersection of 58th Avenue and 53rd Street, just south of Winter Beach and north of Vero Beach. Deputies saw a white Chevrolet pickup parked in the middle of the intersection; traffic was forced to drive around the pickup in order to continue northbound on 58th Avenue.
Deputies woke the unconscious driver, later identified as Rice, and asked him to pull over westbound on 53rd Street. Rice’s speech was slurred and he appeared to be disoriented, but deputies didn’t observe enough indicators of impairment to arrest Rice for driving under the influence.
Deputies later discovered Rice’s pickup was not registered in Florida and that the tag on the vehicle was not assigned. When they searched Rice’s truck, they found several plastic bags that contained a total of nearly 4 grams of cocaine, 1.35 grams of marijuana, 1.54 grams of meth and pills such as Vyvanse, Clonazepam and Tramadol Hydrochloride.
Rice was taken to the county jail for booking.