Man discovered sleeping in car parked for days at rec center in The Villages

A man was discovered sleeping in his car, which had been parked for several days at a recreation area in The Villages.

Community Watch contacted law enforcement about 4:45 a.m. Wednesday to report a “suspicious vehicle” that had been “in the parking lot for several days” at the Tierra Del Sol Recreation Center, according to an arrest record from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.

A deputy arrived at the leisure facility and discovered 57-year-old David Morley Pope, who resides on the Historic Side of The Villages, sleeping in the front passenger seat. He was identified via his Michigan driver’s license.

A search of the vehicle yielded one gram of methamphetamine, which was secreted within Pope’s cellphone case. He also possessed drug paraphernalia. He was arrested on accusations of drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia and put into the Sumter County Detention Center on a $3,500 bond.

Pope has a history of arrests.