Man in Jaguar seen with needle in his arm while driving, Pinellas deputies say

A Pinellas sheriff’s deputy received an unusual and alarming alert on Tuesday morning.

A man had been seen driving a blue Jaguar recklessly while he had a needle in his arm.

The alert came from the St. Petersburg Police Department at about 11:30 a.m. The deputy started looking for the Jaguar and found it at a RaceTrac gas station at 6951 49th St. N in the Pinellas Park area. The deputy also had been given the license plate number and was able to confirm it was the correct car, reports state.

The deputy saw one man approach the passenger side, then saw a second man -- the driver and owner of the Jaguar -- approach. The deputy also saw a needle on the driver’s side seat, arrest reports state.

The deputy identified the owner and driver as Thomas Henry Shayhorn, 39, and the passenger as Dennis Phillip Lermy, 28. The men share an address in Pinellas Park, reports state.

Shayhorn was arrested on a charge of possession of drug paraphernalia and violation of probation for a previous grand theft charge. Lermy was arrested on charges of possession of fentanyl and drug paraphernalia.

Shayhorn admitted to the deputy that he had used the needle 10 to 20 minutes prior to stopping at the gas station, reports state. The deputy also found fentanyl in a cigarette pack in Lermy’s pocket, reports state.

Shayhorn was being held at the jail Wednesday with bail set at $150 on the drug paraphernalia charge. Lermy was being held on $2,150 bail.