Miami man facing reckless driving charge, tried to trade places with his passenger, cops say

A Miami man was arrested Sunday afternoon in the Upper Keys after a Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputy reported seeing him speeding and recklessly passing other vehicles on U.S. 1.

Victor Yanez, 21, faces reckless driving, driving on a suspended license, marijuana possession and felony evidence tampering charges.

According to a Sheriff’s Office press release, Deputy Nelson Sanchez spotted Yanez driving his black Mercedes Benz southbound on U.S. 1 at a high rate of speed at mile marker 89. He passed several vehicles using the right-hand turn lane, said Deputy Becky Herrin, media relations officer for the Sheriff’s Office.

At mile marker 87, Yanez used the center turning lane to pass vehicles in front of him. Sanchez was able to pull the car over at mile marker 86.5. As he approached the Mercedes, Yanez jumped into the back seat and his female passenger moved into the driver’s seat, Herrin said.

Sanchez reported smelling a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside of the vehicle.

Yanez admitted to Sanchez that he did not have a driver’s license. The passenger, who was not named in the press release, told Sanchez she was just trying to help Yanez out. Yanez was taken to county jail on Plantation Key.

While deputies searched the car, they found a plastic bag containing marijuana on the back seat. The weed was not there before the deputies took Yanez to jail, Herrin said, indicating it was placed there as he was being taken away.

Information about Yanez’s bond was not immediately available.

This story was originally published September 4, 2017 at 4:47 PM with the headline "Miami man facing reckless driving charge, tried to trade places with his passenger, cops say."