PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. – A monthslong drug investigation named “Operation Deck The Cells” netted the arrests of 16 people and the seizure of illicit drugs such as methamphetamine, MDMA and fentanyl, Putnam County Sheriff Gator DeLoach said during a Wednesday news conference.
According to DeLoach, the operation started in April of this year and targeted “low-, mid- and trafficking-level drug offenders” in the county. Some of the highlights, the sheriff said, included the seizure of:
- 194 grams of meth
- 473 grams of marijuana
- 194 grams of cocaine
- 142 grams of MDMA
- 51 grams of fentanyl
The amount of fentanyl seized could potentially kill a population the size of the city of Palatka twice, according to the sheriff’s office.
Additionally, the sheriff said, deputies confiscated LSD, amphetamines, four handguns, an AR-15-style pistol and about $8,400 in cash.
The operation resulted in criminal charges being filed against 24 people, 16 of whom were arrested. The other eight (listed below) had outstanding warrants.
Of those arrested, DeLoach said, Raymond Claudio was charged with the sale of fentanyl and meth.
“We believe that there may potentially be several deaths that are attributable to his sale of narcotics,” DeLoach said. “We hope to continue that investigation and bring it to closure, which may ultimately result in his arrest associated with some of those deaths.”
According to a Sheriff’s Office post on Facebook, using the OD Map, detectives uploaded overdoses in Putnam County during the operation, and Claudio’s illegal activity was in the center of most of the reported overdoses.
Of the 16 arrested, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office said two are registered sex offenders.
The operation was done in conjunction with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Seventh Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office.
Deputies are still working to track down these individuals, who have a warrant out for their arrest:
- Domonique Adams - Sale of cocaine and Trafficking in Fentanyl
- Lonnie Johnson - Sale of Marijuana
- Robert Scott - Possession of controlled substance
- Clarence Drake - Sale of Oxycodone
- Willie McCloud - Sale of MDMA
- Marvin Johnson - Trafficking in Cocaine
- Domonique Seymour - Sale of Heroin
- Crystal Tripp - Possession of cocaine and Possession of Firearm by convicted felon