Stolen tag stop led to 4 new misdemeanor and 2 new felony charges for 26-year-old driver

In a report received from St Augustine Police Public Information Officer Cecilia Aiple, Historic City News learned of an arrest that occurred last night after a St Johns County deputy stopped a vehicle inside the city limits.

According to Aiple, the tag on the vehicle had been reported as stolen in Bradford County.  At about 7:45 p.m., patrolmen Jay Brown and Jonathan Correa responded to 510 South Ponce de Leon Boulevard to investigate further.

Police performed a record check on the driver of the vehicle, 26-year-old Christopher Dale Estep who provided a local address of 153 Nesmith Avenue, and discovered an outstanding Bradford County arrest warrant against him for drug related charges.

Once the warrant could be confirmed, police took custody of Estep and placed them in their vehicle.  During an inventory search of the vehicle, substances testing positive for heroin and marijuana were found.

Local second-degree misdemeanor charges of larceny, first-degree misdemeanor charges of possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana and two-counts of possession of drug equipment, third-degree felony charges of possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, and first-degree felony charges of possession of over 10 grams of heroin with intent to sell were added to the out-of-town warrant, before police transported Estep to the county jail.

In addition to the Bradford County detainer, Estep remains in custody in lieu of $55,000 bond for his local charges, after this morning’s first appearance hearing.