35-year-old convicted felon in Sarasota charged with possessing six guns and 1,331 rounds of ammunition

Sheriff’s Office and ATF personnel execute search warrant on apartment after getting tip

A 35-year-old Sarasota man who is a convicted felon has been charged with possessing four handguns, a rifle, a shotgun and 1,331 rounds of ammunition, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office has reported.

Michael Scheb, of 4069 Crockers Lake Blvd., Unit 2813, was arrested on April 20 following the execution of a residential search warrant, a news release said. Members of the Sheriff’s Office’s SWAT Team and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) assisted detectives, the release noted.

“Scheb was arrested without incident and taken to the Sarasota County Correctional Facility,” the release added.
He is being held under total bond of $20,000, Sheriff’s Office Corrections Division records show. His arraignment is scheduled for May 27.

“Detectives began their investigation in early April when they received information that Scheb was in possession of several firearms at his home in the 4000 block of Crockers Lake Boulevard in Sarasota,” the news release explained.

“The investigation is ongoing and additional charges are pending,” the release added.

Scheb has 11 prior convictions on counts including Child Neglect without Bodily Harm, Drug Possession, Theft, Dealing in Stolen Property, Driving While License Suspended, and Violation of Probation, the release pointed out.

Prior to the execution of the search warrant, Scheb’s Probable Cause Affidavit says, Scheb “was detained outside of his residence.”

That affidavit also provides details about the firearms law enforcement agents found during the search: a .32-caliber revolver, a 9mm semi-automatic pistol, a .22-caliber long rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun, a .45 ACP pistol; and a .22LR revolver.

During an interview with officers after he had been read his rights, the affidavit continues, “Scheb stated that he has access to the firearms, has handled/manipulated them and they are in his residence for home protection. Furthermore,” the affidavit says, he “admitted that he is a convicted felon and knows that he is not legally allowed to possess or handle firearms or ammunition.”

Prior cases

A Sarasota News Leader review of Scheb’s prior cases in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court records found that the very first offense with which he was charged — in August 2003 — was Possession of Tobacco by Minor, First Offense.

On Jan. 28, 2008, he was charged with possession of hydrocodone, possession of oxycontin and possession of marijuana, court records note.

The Probable Cause Affidavit in that case explains that a deputy headed southbound on McIntosh Road in Sarasota was at the Proctor Road intersection when he ran the license plate of a four-door Chrysler in front of him. The information he received from the Florida and national crime databases referenced the Chrysler as an “abandoned vehicle,” so the deputy stopped it.

Scheb was a passenger in the Chrysler, the affidavit noted.

The deputy wrote in the narrative that he could smell marijuana in the vehicle. A subsequent search turned up pills and “a small amount of marijuana” under the passenger seat, the affidavit continued.

Scheb admitted to the deputy that he did not have a prescription for the hydrocodone or oxycontin. “The defendant said he has an addiction to pain killers and is trying to stop,” the deputy wrote.

On April 28, 2009, Scheb was sentenced to 11 months and 29 days in jail, court records show. However, he was allowed a total of 111 days as credit for the time he was incarcerated prior to his sentencing.

In June 2012, Scheb was charged with DUI, Driving While License Suspended with knowledge of that suspension, along with Refusal to Submit to testing for alcohol in his system, that Probable Cause Affidavit said.

Scheb was found passed out behind the wheel of a vehicle and received attention from an EMS crew, the affidavit’s narrative noted. He told an officer that he had tried to get his girlfriend “to come pick him up because he was tired and couldn’t drive,” the affidavit said. Scheb also admitted to having taken “half of an anti anxiety pill a girl gave him” about seven hours earlier, and he “stated he smoked a bowl of [marijuana]” two hours earlier.

In the child neglect case, which dates to February 2014, that Probable Cause Affidavit explained that officers were dispatched to the parking lot behind the Sarasota County Administration Center in downtown Sarasota after 911 Dispatch received two calls about a man “who appeared extremely intoxicated” who had an infant with him.

Officers found Scheb pushing a stroller with a 2-month-old infant inside, the affidavit continued. He was so impaired, it added, that he could not “walk or function properly. Scheb was stumbling and walking in a swaying line,” it noted, and he was unable to speak clearly.

“The infant appeared very dirty and did not appear to be getting proper supervision from [Scheb],” the affidavit said.

“Scheb admitted to being under the influence of several narcotics,” the affidavit pointed out.

In August 2014, he pleaded No Contest and formally was sentenced to time already served in the jail, court records show.