Driver Charged With Fentanyl Trafficking After Stop Near Boca Raton Motel

Richard M. McDermott (Photo: Palm Beach County Jail)

A driver was arrested Aug. 21 on a first-degree felony charge of trafficking in fentanyl after Boca Raton police said a field test indicated more than 10 grams of the substance was inside a bag in a vehicle they stopped on N. Federal Highway.

Richard M. McDermott, 37, of Jacksonville, was taken into custody without incident about 12:22 a.m. last Friday, according to a Boca Raton Police Department arrest affidavit. Police charged him with trafficking in fentanyl after allegedly finding about 10.3 grams of a blue powder that a field test indicated was the opioid drug.

An officer reported seeing a blue Hyundai Sonata leave the parking lot of the Plaza Hotel at 2901 N. Federal Highway about 11:30 p.m. Aug. 20, the report said. The driver, it said, rolled through a stop at NE 29th Street and vehicle did not have two working taillights. The car continued north on Federal and pulled into a parking spot at a Chase Bank branch at 3901 N. Federal Highway, where the officer conducted a traffic stop.

McDermott was driving and told officers he did not have his driver’s license with him, the affidavit said. A passenger, who police identified as the registered owner of the vehicle, presented a Florida driver’s license. Officers wrote that the passenger appeared nervous, and both occupants were asked to step out of the vehicle.

The registered owner consented to a search of the car after an officer explained it would cover the entire vehicle, according to the affidavit. During the search, officers located a glass pipe inside a green duffel bag on the floor of the front passenger area. The passenger told officers the bag was theirs and, after being read Miranda warnings, said they knew the pipe was inside but that it did not belong to them. A field test of the pipe indicated the presence of cocaine, police said.

McDermott denied knowing about the pipe or any other contraband, the affidavit states, however he also consented to a search of a shoulder bag. Inside a black felt bag within it, an officer the aforementioned found blue powder. McDermott said he had no knowledge of the powder and suggested the passenger had placed it there, according to police. A field test of the powder indicated fentanyl.

Police said the passenger was also taken into custody on charges of possession of cocaine residue and possession of drug paraphernalia. The vehicle was towed. McDermott listed an address in Jacksonville.

McDermott remained lodged in the Palm Beach County Jail on Aug. 27, 2026, without bail.