Inverness pursuit ends with 443 grams of meth seized, two held without bond
A driver with a suspended license ran from deputies on East Turner Camp Road. A PIT maneuver ended the pursuit, and a search turned up trafficking-weight meth, fentanyl, crack, and a loaded 9mm with an extended magazine.
- Driver Michael James Willis, 21, is charged with trafficking in methamphetamine, fleeing and eluding, possession of a controlled substance, and driving while license suspended or revoked.
- Front passenger Amari Lorenz Jones, 25, is charged with four counts of possession of a controlled substance and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
- Total seizure: 443.8 grams of methamphetamine, 2 grams of crack cocaine, 0.9 grams of fentanyl, one oxycodone pill, and one firearm.
- Both are held without bond at the Citrus County Detention Facility in Lecanto.
Shortly before 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 14, Citrus County deputies on East Turner Camp Road in Inverness spotted a vehicle driven by Michael James Willis, 21, who they knew had a suspended license. When deputies lit him up, Willis kept going, passing other cars. A deputy ended the pursuit with a PIT maneuver, spinning the vehicle out.
A narcotics K9 alerted on the car. Under the driver's seat, detectives found 416.9 grams of methamphetamine; Willis also carried a digital scale and 17.4 grams of meth. Under the front passenger seat, where Amari Lorenz Jones, 25, had been sitting, they found a backpack of bagged crack cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl, plus a loaded 9mm handgun with an extended 31-round magazine.
Sheriff David Vincent credited the patrol deputies' teamwork, saying the amount of drugs seized in a single case underscores the importance of their vigilance. Willis and Jones are both charged as listed above and held without bond in Lecanto.