Andrew Gillum, the former Tallahassee mayor and 2018 Democratic gubernatorial nominee who was arrested in July on meth possession charges in Alabama, is behind bars again.
Gillum’s bond was revoked after he missed a drug screen and then tested positive for meth during an Aug. 6 court appearance, according to an order of commitment to jail signed by Baldwin County District Judge Scott Taylor. Gillum, who came within 34,000 votes of becoming Florida governor, was booked the same day into the Baldwin County jail.
The court order says under reason for commitment that Gillum missed his scheduled drug test and tested positive when summoned to court.
TMZ, quoting Baldwin County Assistant District Attorney John Oxford, reported that Gillum takes part in random drug screens and tested negative after his first arrest only to test positive more recently.
The court docket makes repeated reference to Gillum’s participation in drug court, a diversion program that typically includes treatment and dismissal of charges if successfully completed. His next appearance in drug court is set for Aug. 13.
Christ Nicholas Coumanis, a Baldwin, Alabama, attorney representing Gillum, did not immediately respond to an email from the Democrat.
Gillum, 47, was first arrested July 2 by police in Daphne, Alabama, a small town outside Mobile, Alabama, on charges of unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a felony, and possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, both misdemeanors.
Patrol officers pulled him over around 10:45 p.m. for driving erratically on U.S. Highway 98, Daphne Police Department Chief Brian Gulsby said in an earlier news release.
“One of the officers saw a glass pipe on the center console of the vehicle,” Gulsby said. “This led to a probable cause search of the vehicle. Several rolled marijuana cigarettes and three packages of a substance that tested positive for methamphetamine were recovered.”
Gillum served on the Tallahassee City Commission from 2003 until 2018, the last four years as mayor. In 2018, he pulled off an upset win in the Democratic primary for governor but lost in the general election to Ron DeSantis, then a former congressman.
In 2020, photos went viral of him passed out in a Miami hotel room where he was found with a male escort suffering from a suspected drug overdose. Small baggies of suspected crystal methamphetamine were found in the room, but Gillum denied using drugs and no charges were filed. He went off to rehab for alcohol abuse, but his political career never recovered.
Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Andrew Gillum jailed again after bond revoked in Alabama meth case
Reporting by Jeff Burlew, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jeff Burlew, Tallahassee Democrat | USA TODAY Network
