2 arrested on drug charges after search warrant, 1 child in DCF care

Two people were arrested in Port Charlotte on Thursday after they resisted deputies’ attempts at searching their home.

According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, 35-year-old Brandon Tufts kept deputies from entering his home, in the 1800block of Eblis Avenue, while also warning his girlfriend to lock the door.

Deputies were able to get Tufts in handcuffs and he was taken to a patrol car until they finished the search.

His girlfriend, Jennifer Orlick, 38, was also arrested after she ran to lock the sliding glass door so sheriff’s deputies couldn’t get inside. The deputies removed the screen and blinds from a nearby window and told Orlick, once again, to open the door.

Deputies finally were able to get the front door of the home open and found Orlick holding a kid.

The child is now with the Department of Children and Families, the sheriff’s office said.

After conducting their search, deputies found:

• 5.5g of fentanyl, divided into smaller baggies
• 11.6g of marijuana (neither suspect possessed a medical marijuana card)
• 37.9 g of unidentified substances, being sent for testing
• 2g of methamphetamine
• Over $1,150 in cash
• Other drug paraphernalia, including straws with residue and a scale

In the trash can, next t the room where the child sleeps, deputies found two more cut straws, both with fentanyl residue on them.

Both Tufts and Orlick are currently being held at the Charlotte County Jail. So far, no bond has been set.