Collier County commission candidate faces cocaine possession charge, calls to quit

A Collier County commission candidate's arrest in East Naples this past weekend has prompted calls from his party to drop out of the race. 

John Jenkins, 55, was booked into the Naples Jail Center Sunday morning and faces a felony charge of possession of cocaine, according to a Collier County Sheriff's Office arrest report. He was released later that day on $5,000 bond.

Jenkins is running as the lone Democrat in a crowded race to represent District 1, which covers East Naples, Marco Island, and communities from the Isles of Capri to Copeland. 

Commissioner Donna Fiala has been the commissioner for the district for 20 years, but isn't seeking reelection.

Three Republican candidates vying for the seat will face off in the primary election Aug. 18, and the winner is set to go head-to-head with Jenkins at the Nov. 3 general election.

Jenkins' campaign coordinator Patricia Edmonson said the campaign team is confident that after the investigation has concluded the charges against Jenkins will be dropped or dismissed.

"There is a lot more to this story than is revealed in the police report," she said.

Edmonson added that Jenkins recently had major back surgery and that it hasn't been "an easy time for him."

"It's an unfortunate situation," she said.

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Following news of Jenkins' arrest, local Democratic Party leaders called Monday for him to drop out of the race.

"We were saddened to hear of the difficult times John Jenkins is going through," Annisa Karim, chairwoman of the Collier County Democratic Party, said in a written statement. "We all deserve the space and privacy to deal with disruptive issues in our lives. It would be in his — and the community’s — best interest, therefore, for Mr. Jenkins to withdraw from his run for County Commission in District 1."

When asked about the party's statement and whether Jenkins plans to drop out of the race, Edmonson said no decisions have been made yet and the campaign will be holding discussions during the next few days.

"We ask for everyone to allow him his privacy," she said.

Dave Carpenter, qualifying officer for the Collier County Supervisor of Elections Office, said Jenkins is under no legal requirement to withdraw from the race.

Deputies were dispatched to the 4600 block of Gulfstream Drive in reference to a drug-related incident about 2:30 a.m. Sunday after a Lyft driver reported a man who was passed out in the parking lot of the Break Time Lounge, according to the report.

Deputies wrote they found Jenkins lying in the parking lot in front of a vehicle, "yelling for his Lyft driver." Jenkins appeared to have multiple abrasions to his face, a "swollen/black eye" and small abrasion on his legs, according to the report.

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When deputies asked Jenkins what had happened, he told them that he had fallen in the parking lot. Jenkins, deputies wrote, "was clearly intoxicated" and said that he had approximately four drinks at the bar. 

He was "sweating profusely and it appeared as if he had urinated himself while laying on the ground," according to the report.

Jenkins denied any illicit drug use and said he had only consumed alcohol, deputies wrote.

An ambulance was dispatched to the scene and when Jenkins was put on the stretcher a deputy asked to search him to ensure the safety of the EMS personnel, according to the report.

Jenkins agreed, deputies wrote, and they then found "a small plastic bag containing a white powdery substance" in his right, front pocket. The total weight was 0.4 grams, according to the report.

When deputies asked Jenkins what was inside the bag he said he was not sure, the report states. Deputies then read Jenkins his Miranda Rights and he told them that "the substance was a gift from a friend and that he did not actually want it," according to the report.

Deputies said they field tested the contents of the bag and received a positive result for cocaine.

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Jenkins was then placed into handcuffs and taken to NCH Baker Hospital Downtown. After receiving medical treatment, he was taken to the Naples Jail Center, the report states.

The incident marks Jenkins' second arrest in Collier in recent years. 

Court records show he was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, a misdemeanor, in March 2017. Jenkins entered into a plea agreement and was adjudicated guilty.

He was sentenced to six months county probation and was granted early termination of his probation two months later.

Court records also show Jenkins was arrested in connection with drug-related charges, including a charge of possession of cocaine, in Collier in 2006.

Prosecutors later filed a notice to drop the charges after Jenkins successfully completed a pretrial diversion program, records show.

Connect with the reporter at patrick.riley@naplesnews.com or on Twitter @PatJRiley.

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