Holmes Beach police arrested a man with past ties to Anna Maria Island for possessing meth following an accident in the Walgreens parking lot.
Nicholas Lee Armstrong, 39, of Bradenton, was arrested Sept. 23 on felony charges of possessing a controlled substance and as a habitual traffic offender at 3200 E. Bay Drive.
Armstrong had lived in Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach during the past five years, according to police and court records.
Officer Jason Higgins reported he approached Armstrong, who told him he’d moved a car and backed into another. The officer reported Armstrong was fidgety and sweating.
Armstrong said his girlfriend owned the vehicle he’d moved and that he was trying to get cellphone reception to call her and ask about insurance.
Meanwhile, Armstrong agreed to a search of the vehicle, in which police found 11.1 grams of meth and other unidentified pills in a container labeled, “This belongs to Shelby Edwards.”
Through database searches, Officer Jason Higgins determined the vehicle was not insured and Armstrong was a habitual traffic offender.
Armstrong said he was behind the wheel only to re-park a vehicle his girlfriend had left parked askew. He also told police the meth was not his.
He was transported to the Manatee County jail, where he was released on a $3,000 bond.
His arraignment is set for 9 a.m. Friday, Oct. 18, in the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.