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Florida man with meth in underwear tells deputy ‘there’s nothing wrong with drugs’: PCSO

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Published  March 25, 2025 4:04pm EDT
Florida
FOX 13 News

The Brief

    • The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office said Thomas Carpenter told them ‘there’s nothing wrong with drugs’ after he was arrested during a traffic stop.
    • Carpenter was released from state prison in December 2024 after serving a three-year sentence.
    • Carpenter was charged with amphetamine trafficking or methamphetamine 14 grams or over, possession of marijuana with intent to sell or deliver, 2 counts of possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, smuggling contraband into a county detention facility and three counts of drug paraphernalia.

PALATKA, Fla. - A Florida man who was released from state prison last December is back behind bars after deputies say he had drugs and children in a vehicle when he was recently pulled over and told them he had just smoked marijuana in the car. 

The backstory:

According to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, Thomas Carpenter, 41, was pulled over on March 18, 2025, for a traffic violation. 

Deputies say as they tried to talk to Carpenter he kept falling in and out of sleep. 

READ: Suspected drug dealer arrested, $1.7M of drugs, guns seized in Manatee County's largest fentanyl bust: MCSO

Carpenter told deputies that he and his female passenger smoked marijuana in the vehicle before they were pulled over. 

Deputies say neither Carpenter nor his passenger had a medical marijuana card and two children were in the car at the time of the traffic stop. 

Dig deeper:

According to PCSO, deputies found a bag inside the vehicle which included drug paraphernalia, marijuana and possible methamphetamine. 

Carpenter was arrested and taken to the Putnam County Jail. 

According to a post on the Putnam County Sheriff's Office Facebook page, Carpenter told the deputy that "there’s nothing wrong with drugs," after he was arrested. 

Courtesy: Putnam County Sheriff's Office

Courtesy: Putnam County Sheriff's Office

During a search at the jail, deputies said they found 11 small, tied sandwich bags with a crystal-like substance in the front of his underwear.

PCSO said the substances in the bag and underwear tested positive for methamphetamine with a weight of about 322.1 grams. 

READ: Man who murdered Hillsborough County deputy hours from retirement pleads guilty, gets 45 years in prison

Carpenter was charged with amphetamine trafficking or methamphetamine 14 grams or over, possession of marijuana with intent to sell or deliver, two counts of possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, smuggling contraband into a county detention facility and three counts of drug paraphernalia.

Courtesy: Putnam County Sheriff's Office

Courtesy: Putnam County Sheriff's Office

He was released from the state prison system in December 2024 after serving a three-year sentence for several charges including battery on a law enforcement officer/firefighter/EMS, resisting an officer with violence, fleeing a law enforcement officer, among other things. 

Deputies say a copy of the report was sent to the Department of Children and Families because there were kids in the car. The passenger was released at the scene.

The Source: This story was written with information posted by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office. 

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