Key West traffic stop leads to cocaine, firearm sentence

Circuit Judge Mark Jones sentenced Nicholas David May after he pleaded no contest to possession of cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The case began as a traffic stop on May 30, 2025, when Key West police officers saw multiple roadway violations and the encounter quickly turned into a felony prosecution.

What started as a routine stop became a public-safety problem for one of the busiest law-enforcement corridors in the Florida Keys. The firearm charge carried especially serious weight because Florida law classifies possession of a firearm by a convicted felon as a second-degree felony, and state law also prohibits possession of drug paraphernalia tied to controlled substances. By the time the case reached court, the traffic violations had been overtaken by the cocaine, paraphernalia and firearm findings that followed the stop.

Key West police say the department serves about 25,000 full-time residents and more than two million visitors each year, a scale that makes ordinary traffic enforcement a regular part of keeping the island moving. The department also describes itself as the southernmost police department in the continental United States, a reminder that even a minor road stop in Key West can carry outsized consequences when officers uncover contraband or weapons.

The sentencing also closed the loop on the case inside Monroe County’s court system. County records direct criminal court files to the Clerk of Court, while the sheriff’s arrest page lists people who have been arrested but not found guilty in court, a distinction that matters in cases like May’s, where the traffic stop led to later charges, a plea and a final judgment. Key West police recently retained state accreditation from the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation, part of the department’s public emphasis on professional standards and accountability.

For Monroe County residents, the case is a stark example of how quickly a roadside violation can escalate once officers make contact and search or investigate further. A stop that began with traffic infractions ended with a convicted felon sentencing, a cocaine case and a firearm conviction, all traced back to a single encounter on Key West streets.