Holmes Beach police June 11 arrested Bradenton resident Eduardo Amaro, 48, on four third-degree felony charges for possession of amphetamine, oxycodone, hydrocodone and buprenorphine without a prescription.
An officer saw a motorist at the intersection of East Bay Drive and Manatee Avenue around 1:35 a.m. fail to proceed through a green light until the light cycled from yellow to red.
The officer followed the motorist and saw the vehicle weaving in a lane, so he conducted a traffic stop in the 2700 block of Gulf Drive.
The officer spoke to the driver, Amaro, who said he was an Uber driver and had been on the phone, which resulted in his poor driving.
When Amaro opened a handbag to retrieve his driver’s license upon the officer’s request, the officer saw “a small clear plastic baggie containing a couple pills” inside.
The officer asked Amaro to step out of the vehicle and Amaro complied.
The officer handcuffed Amaro and searched the purse, finding the bag he saw earlier contained two pills labeled Adderall, a prescription amphetamine and controlled substance.
The officer also found several loose pills inside the purse and identified each using the labeled codes. Those included two oxycodone pills, two hydrocodone pills and one buprenorphine pill.
Amaro said he did not have prescriptions for the substances, which were confiscated and placed in HBPD storage, according to a report.
The officer arrested Amaro and transported him to the Manatee County jail, where he was released the same day after posting $6,000 bond.
If convicted, punishment for a third-degree felony charge includes up to five years in prison, five years of probation and a fine of up to $5,000.
An arraignment will be at 9 a.m. Friday, July 21, at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.