Man Wearing 'Who Needs Drugs' T-Shirt Jailed for Possession

A 50-year-old Spring Hill man faces possession charges after Pasco County Sheriff’s deputies were alerted to his unusual behavior in a checkout line at a Hudson Kmart.

According to the sheriff’s office, deputies encountered John Richard Balmer around 9:30 p.m. Monday at the 12412 U.S. 19 store. Balmer, deputies wrote in a complaint affidavit, was standing in the checkout line when he watched a deputy walk into the store.

Spotting the deputy, Balmer “attempted to hand a bag of green leafy substance off to a witness standing behind him,” the report stated. When that witness refused the bag, Balmer is said to have placed the baggy on the ground. He then paid for his items as another deputy approached him.

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Workers at the store told deputies about the bag placed on the floor. When deputies retrieved it, they discover the bag was full of a green leafy substance and also contained two baggies with a clear, rock-like substance.

Deputies also didn’t fail to notice the T-shirt Balmer was wearing at the time. “Who Needs Drugs. No, seriously, I have drugs,” the shirt proclaimed. It seems the proclamation was true. The affidavit stated that the green leafy substance tested positive as marijuana and those rocks turned out to be methamphetamine.

Balmer was arrested and charged with possession of methamphetamine and possession of marijuana. He was released from the Pasco County Jail in lieu of $2,150 bond.

Balmer, jail records indicate, is no stranger to local law enforcement. He’s faced numerous arrests on battery and contempt of court charges, among others.

Photo Credit: John Balmer/Courtesy of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office

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