Alachua County Sheriff’s deputies arrested an Alabama man Monday morning after police said he was “tweaking” on drugs and driving in circles around a Hardee’s parking lot.
Deputies arrested 29-year-old Chad Robert Weltlich on charges of cocaine possession and drug equipment possession, according to an arrest report.
At about 12:15 a.m., an employee at the Hardee’s located at 7300 W. Newberry Road reported a car circling the parking lot for about 30 minutes.
When a deputy arrived, the car pulled into the drive-thru even though the restaurant was closed. The officer stopped the car, driven by Weltlich, and noticed he was shaking and stuttering when he spoke.
Weltlich told the deputy he was ordering food and insisted he wasn’t intoxicated, according to the report. He also said there were two other people in the car, but when officers didn’t see anyone in the car, Weltlich said he forgot they already left with his dad. Weltlich also said he was moving from Miami to Alabama then changed his story and said he was moving from Miami to Panama City.
Deputies saw a glass pipe with a circular bowl on the driver side of Weltlich’s car.
After searching the car, law enforcement found 0.7 grams of cocaine and a Hardee’s bag with two warm burgers inside, according to the report. Weltlich denied any knowledge of the pipe and the cocaine.
Deputies booked Weltlich into the Alachua County Jail, where he remained in lieu of a $7,000 bond.
[A version of this story ran on page 8 on 2/18/2014 under the headline "Man circling Hardee’s arrested for cocaine"]
