Drunk Driver Crashed Pot Bust, Deputies Say

Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies managed to snag 68 mature marijuana plants and one accused drunk driver during a single operation Sunday.

According to the agency, deputies were in the process of recovering marijuana plants found in a mangrove area off the Courtney Campbell Causeway Sunday evening when one of their deputies was hit by a 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe.

The deputy was sitting inside his vehicle around 7:47 p.m. in the boat ramp parking area at 8601 W. Courtney Campbell Causeway, the agency explained in email to media. The Tahoe, driven by Yasiel Martinez, 25, of Tampa hit the back of the deputy’s vehicle.

Martinez showed signs of impairment, the email said, so DUI investigators responded to the scene.

“Martinez provided BAC readings of .143/.144,” the email said.

Deputies were in the area at the time because of the discovery of marijuana plants growing in the mangroves just north of the boat ramp. The sheriff’s office said deputies removed at total of 77 pounds of marijuana worth a street value of about $144,500.

They also escorted Martinez to the Hillsborough County Jail. He was booked in on DUI with property damage charges and later released in lieu of $500 bond.

No further information about the grow operation is available at this time.

Booking photo courtesy of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office