Immokalee man allegedly ate pot baggie during traffic stop

IMMOKALEE, Fla. His mouth doubled his trouble without him saying a single word.

An Immokalee man faces a felony charge of tampering with evidence and a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge after Collier County Sheriff’s deputies said they found him with a baggie of pot in his mouth.

The deputies pulled over Leon Demetrick Armstrong, 36, of 315 Weeks Terrace, when they suspected his windows were tinted too dark.

One of the deputies smelled marijuana coming from Armstrong’s car during the traffic stop in the parking lot of the Short Stop convenience store at 231 S. First St., but a search came up empty, aside from trace amounts of the drug, according to the sheriff’s office.

The other deputy noticed Armstrong moving something inside his mouth and ordered him to spit it out. Armstrong struggled but was eventually coaxed to spit out the baggie, which had no more than 20 grams of marijuana inside, the sheriff’s office said.

Armstrong, a convicted felon with gang ties, is free on $15,000 bond, according to the sheriff’s office. A court date is set for March 13.