Florida Man Found by Police Stuck in Port-a-Potty Arrested on Drug Charges

A man found stuck inside a port-a-potty in Florida was arrested on drug charges after officers helped him get out, according to police.

Collier County Sheriff's Office deputies were called to 3412 Seagrape Avenue in Naples, after they received reports that a man was shouting in pain somewhere on the street on Sunday evening, according to NBC2 News.

After officers arrived, they asked the man to step out from the port-a-potty and take a seat outside, according to the network.

The man, later identified as James Gousse, told police that his foot somehow got stuck when he closed the door of the port-a-potty.

When police opened the door, they found a small bag with a powder-like substance, a syringe and a larger bag that was filled with smaller bags. The police later tested the substance and found it was fentanyl, weighing about 0.5 grams, according to NBC2 News.

Gousse was arrested and charged with two drug offenses, including possession of a controlled substance.

Newsweek has contacted the Collier County Sheriff's Office for comment.

The usage of fentanyl has increased in the U.S. with drug users adding it to heroin in order to increase its potency, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration reported.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were an estimated 100,306 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. during a 12-month period ending in April 2021.

The number of fentanyl-related deaths across the U.S. increased by 28.5 percent from the 78,056 fatalities that were recorded in the same period the year before.

In a November 2021 statement, the CDC said: "Overdose deaths from synthetic opioids (primarily fentanyl) and psychostimulants such as methamphetamine also increased in the 12-month period ending in April 2021."

The case comes just weeks after another man in Florida was killed in an incident involving a bulldozer at the landfill site he was working at.

Traffic control contractor Aaron Henderson, 43, had been working at the North Central Landfill in Polk County when deputies were called after a bulldozer crushed him to death while he used a port-a-potty.

Deputies said the bulldozer driver moved the vehicle up an embankment to park it for the night with the front blade elevated high enough to block his view.

But once up the embankment, the driver started to turn when he heard a crumbling noise and realized he had hit the port-a-potty.

A press release sent to the local NBC affiliate read: "He immediately exited the bulldozer and ran towards the port-a-potty to see if anyone was inside of it. At that time, he observed Henderson unresponsive inside."