Two South Carolina Men Arrested After Deputies Find Gun, Drugs in Keys Traffic Stop

A pre-dawn speeding stop on Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway ended Sunday with two Columbia, South Carolina men in a Florida jail, a loaded .45-caliber Glock off the street, and cocaine trafficking charges that carry mandatory prison time under state law.

Monroe County Sheriff's Office deputies pulled over a BMW sedan near Mile Marker 30 on U.S. 1 at approximately 3:30 a.m. on March 8. The driver, Alberto Gutierrez, 34, was clocked above the speed limit. When deputies approached the vehicle, they reported smelling marijuana and observed a THC pen sitting in plain view inside the car. Those observations prompted a full search.

What deputies found inside went well beyond the vape pen. According to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, the search turned up a loaded .45-caliber Glock, more than 68 grams of suspected cocaine, more than 21 grams of marijuana, seven prescription pills, and $641 in cash. A THC vape pen was also seized as part of the inventory.

Both Gutierrez and his passenger, Andre Coker, 44, also of Columbia, were arrested and charged with cocaine trafficking, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Gutierrez faces two additional felony counts: possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. According to the Tampa Free Press, those charges stem from a criminal history involving narcotics and weapons offenses.

Richland County court records, as reported by WLTX and Yahoo News, show Gutierrez was convicted in South Carolina on drug charges in 2015 and on lottery-related charges, including conspiracy and intent to defraud, in 2017. Those same records indicate he is currently facing a pending charge as a fugitive from justice. Whether Gutierrez carries any prior charges in Florida remained unclear as of Sunday's reporting.

The cocaine quantity alone carries significant legal weight under Florida law. Florida Statute 893.135 classifies possession of 28 grams or more of cocaine as trafficking, a first-degree felony. For amounts between 28 and 200 grams, the statute sets a mandatory minimum sentence of three years in prison and a $50,000 fine. The more than 68 grams reported by deputies falls squarely within that range if prosecutors pursue the trafficking counts, though whether lab testing has confirmed the substance as cocaine had not been publicly confirmed as of Sunday.

Coker's role in the vehicle was as a passenger. He faces the same drug charges as Gutierrez but was not charged in connection with the firearm.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office announced the arrests through a Facebook post, which served as the primary official source for the incident details. Booking records, bond amounts, and next court dates for both men had not been publicly released as of Sunday morning.