On Friday, February 8th, while on routine patrol in the city, members of the Boca Raton Police Tactical Team observed a vehicle with dark tinted windows driving slowly throughout neighborhoods in and around Camino Gardens. After observing the vehicle make numerous traffic violations, a stop was initiated. Immediately upon approaching the car, officers could smell a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle.
Without prompting, one of the occupants yelled “we just dropped his girl off at McDonalds.” While checking the occupant’s identifications, the back rear passenger yelled excitedly, “I just smoked weed.” All three occupants were removed from the car and questioned separately. The rear passenger, Clarence Rutledge, stated he was in the area to drop off “his baby momma at McDonalds on A1A and Oakland.” He then stated he was looking for his other girl in Deerfield Beach. The front passenger, Devondrea Wilcher, said he was just along for the ride to drop Rutledge’s girlfriend at McDonalds by the beach and then they were going to help him “trick on his lady.” This was translated for officers as he was helping his friend cheat on his girlfriend. The driver, Netfa Malcolm, said he was just taking his girl to work in Lauderdale Lakes. When asked why he was in Boca Raton, Malcolm said he didn’t have anything else to say because it wasn’t going to help him.
While searching the car subsequent to arrest, officers found a window punch and marijuana throughout the car. All three were charged with Possession of Marijuana, Loitering & Prowling and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Malcolm was additionally charged with Operating a Vehicle with a Suspended License.
Captions (left to right): Clarence Rutledge, Netefa Malcolm, Devondrea Wilcher