An intense confrontation unfolded in Florida when a fugitive allegedly blew fentanyl into the face of a police officer during a chaotic arrest, police body camera footage reveals. The suspect, Jesse James McAuliffe, insisted the substance was sugar, despite its lethal nature.
McAuliffe, who was wanted for violating probation, was apprehended in the parking lot of a grocery store in Ocala on April 30. Officers from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office detained him and discovered a small bag of fentanyl in his pocket, as shown in the dramatic footage released recently.
In a seemingly disoriented state, McAuliffe told the officer, “It’s sugar, test it.” The deputy, wearing gloves, questioned the suspect’s claim, asking, “Sugar? You carry sugar in a baggie like that?” McAuliffe responded by saying he uses it when his “sugar gets low and I need to eat it.”
As the officer continued to search his pockets, they uncovered a black bottle cap amid crumpled napkins, allegedly containing melted fentanyl. In an unexpected move captured on the bodycam, McAuliffe blew the substance towards the officer’s face.
“I was just trying to blow that off your hand so you didn’t get it in your mouth,” the suspect frantically explained, prompting the officer to reprimand him for the reckless act.
“I was just trying to blow that off your hand so you didn’t get it in your mouth,” the frantic suspect told the deputy, who immediately snapped at him for the brazen stunt.
“Look, it’s blowing right around. You might get sick from it. Don’t touch it.”
Marion County officials accused the strung-out suspect of attempting to destroy evidence.
The video later showed authorities removing numerous pre-filled and used syringes from McAuliffe’s trash-filled car, all of which tested positive for the dangerous street drug, cops said.
“You have a lot of sugar, man,” one deputy quipped while rifling through the druggie’s stash.
Officers said the exposed cop is “okay” in a Facebook post, warning that even small amounts of fentanyl can be “life-threatening.”
McAuliffe was hit with possession of fentanyl, tampering with evidence, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
He is being held without bond at the Marion County Jail.
