Key West man tells cop 'I thought cocaine wasn't illegal in Florida'

KEY WEST, Fla., Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Like the late Rick James said, it’s a hell of a drug.

A Florida man was arrested and charged with cocaine possession and felony tampering with evidence early Sunday morning after he was allegedly caught trying to get rid of a bag of cocaine in a flower planter at the Pier House Resort in Key West.

It’s unclear why Guy Lanchester would have been trying to ditch the bag because, according to arresting Officer Darnell Sealy, the 46-year-old said he thought cocaine was legal in Florida. Police found less than a gram of cocaine in the flower pot.

"I don't understand. I thought cocaine wasn't illegal in Florida." Lanchester allegedly said.

Sealy responded to the resort after a security guard called police when he saw Lanchester walk onto the property with two other people and then heard a scream.

"I asked Lanchester what he had in his hand and Lanchester quickly shoved his hands into the flower pot and yanked them back out,” Sealy said when describing the tampering charge.

The two people who were with Lanchester were searched and released.

[Keynoter]