A Mount Dora man is in the Lake County Jail after being arrested for allegedly selling drugs and having a gun at a city park in Leesburg.

Jasper Evan Tate, 43, of 1111 Grant Ave. in Mount Dora, was charged with possession of drugs with intent to sell within 1,000 feet of a municipal park, possession of controlled substances, delivery or manufacture of drug paraphernalia, and possession of a firearm by a convicted Florida felon.

A Leesburg police officer responded around 9 p.m. Sunday to a report of a suspicious person at John L. Johnson Park, located at 201 Mills St. An anonymous tip had been phoned in about a black male who backed his black Chevy Trailblazer into a parking spot and was selling narcotics out of a backpack and had a gun in his possession. The park was open to the public at the time, according to the police report.

The woman who reported the suspect told the 911 operator she had purchased drugs from him and had seen him place a backpack and firearm into his vehicle. Officers arrived at the park and saw the only vehicle in the area was a Trailblazer that matched the description given by the tipster. A man who matched the description of the suspect got out of his vehicle when he saw the officers, the report said.

The man was identified as Tate from his Florida driver’s license. He was acting belligerent with officers on the scene and yelling at them. He said an unidentified woman was setting him up and he didn’t have anything in his vehicle, according to the report.

While officers were talking among themselves, Tate walked away from the scene, leaving his vehicle behind. Officers searched for him but were unable to find him. A criminal records search revealed Tate has 18 prior felony convictions. Officers ran his license tag and discovered it wasn’t registered to his car, the report said.

In plain view inside the vehicle was a firearm between the driver’s seat and center console. An Adidas bag was on the floorboard, also in plain view. The gun and bag matched the description given by the tipster, according to the report.

Officers searched the vehicle. The handgun was a Ruger P85 Mk II 9mm. It was loaded with 10 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. Officers also found three edible-type narcotics packaged individually. Inside the bag were 29.7 grams of a powdery substance that tested positive for MDMA, 21 bags of drug paraphernalia, two digital scales, two tins containing packages of the MDMA, four hypodermic needles, three oxycodone pills, seven lollipops presumed to contain narcotics, and 12 packages of edibles presumed to contain narcotics, the report said.

An arrest warrant was issued for Tate and he was picked up the next day. He’s being held on $18,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Lake County Court on Sept. 27.