CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – The recent arrest of two men highlights an ongoing problem between drugs and gun violence that law enforcement said can either lead to injury or death.
Tony Ross, 24, was shot in the head on Oct. 14, 2023, at an Orange Park apartment complex. Seven months after his murder, Clay County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested and charged 20-year-old Rida Hicks and 30-year-old Kevin Bush with murder and armed robbery.
According to an arrest warrant, Ross’ murder was the result of a drug deal that turned into a deadly armed robbery. Clay County investigators couldn’t provide further details because it’s an ongoing investigation, but they said this case is an example of an ongoing problem -- gun violence mixed with drug activity.
For years, local and federal law enforcement have argued that illegal drug activity and gun violence go hand-in-hand.
News4JAX Crime and Safety Analyst Tom Hackney, who is a retired JSO director, believed 70% or more of the gun violence in Northeast Florida has ties to illegal drug activity.
“It is so intermingled,” Hackney said. “There are so many homicide cases that are investigated that have a drug connection. And there are so many drug connections that have a homicide connection.”
According to the American Prosecutor’s Research Institute, one out of every four people arrested on illegal drug charges admitted to carrying a gun all or most of the time during their involvement in drug activity.
Hackney talked about what can lead to a shooting when criminals are engaged in a drug deal.
“So many of these are set up between buyers and sellers. At one point, somebody decides that guy is coming with drugs. The other one decides that the guy is coming with money. Sometimes between the violence and the greed, they get there, and you just don’t know the person you’re going to meet to buy or sell to, has devised a plan to rob you,” Hackney said.
He said there is a public misconception that murders and aggravated assaults are only connected to large-scale drug operations involving kilo quantities of illegal drugs.
“Murders happen with very small amounts of drug transactions,” Hackney said.
Hackney said another reason a drug deal can lead to gunfire is because drug deals might fight over territory.