Police officers seize $35,000 in cash, 4 pounds of weed

Police charged a Gainesville man Tuesday with having more than 4 pounds of marijuana and $35,000 in his shed.

At about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, members of Gainesville Police’s Special Operations Unit searched 27-year-old John Paul Bittner II’s home in the 1400 block of NW 41st Road, according a police report. Officers had obtained a warrant to search the home.

In Bittner’s shed, officers found three vacuum-sealed bags containing 3.75 pounds of weed stuffed in a red backpack and a cloth Publix bag, according to the report. Additional bags within these contained more than half a pound of weed.

The Publix bag also held 53 syringes with .93 grams of weed resin extract in each, according to the report.

Elsewhere in the shed, inside a blue shoebox, officers found more than $35,000 in cash, according to the report.

The money was in multiple bundles and denominations, which police said is consistent with narcotic sales.

Strands of red hair, the same color as Bittner’s, were found in the Publix bag and shoebox, according to the report.

Inside his house, officers found a small bag of cocaine, two digital scales, two cannabis pipes, two grinders and about 5 more grams of weed, according to the report.

Bittner told police the weed and pipes in the house belonged to him, while the cocaine likely belonged to his roommate, according to the report.

He denied ownership of the money and marijuana in the shed. His landlord, the only other person with a key to the shed, told police none of the seized drugs and equipment belonged to him, according to the report.

Police arrested Bittner on two charges of possessing marijuana with intent to sell within 1,000 feet of a convenience store, one charge of possessing cocaine and another charge of possessing drug equipment.

Authorities took him to the Alachua County Jail, where he was released Wednesday evening on a $50,000 bond.