A dozen people in the Palatka area were arrested Friday on drug and weapons violations by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.
Those dozen people have been arrested a total of 177 times in Putnam County alone, News4Jax discovered.
“It's a proven fact across the country that drug activity, theft, motor vehicle theft are definitely related,” Capt. Joseph Wells said.
Because drug violations are known to go hand-in-hand with other crime, the enforcement efforts took place in areas that have experienced recent burglary and theft occurrences.
During the operation, deputies also recovered a stolen vehicle and seized cocaine, ecstasy, narcotic medications, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, money believed to be profits of illegal drug dealing and one gun.
The following people were arrested during the operation:
- Carolyn Diane Fuller, 54, charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle
- Harry James Robinson Jr., 48, charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle and possession of controlled substance (hydromorphone) with intent to sell
- Frankie J. Lawson, 33, charged with possession of cannabis with intent to sell, possession of Schedule II controlled substance with intent to sell and possession of drug paraphernalia
- Robert Anthony Staten, 31, charged with sale of cocaine
- Gerard Kenneth Baskins, 26, charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
- Freddie Q. Jenkins, 36, charged with possession of cocaine and driving while license is suspended/revoked
- Jose Luis Serrano Ortiz, 35, charged with possession of cannabis under 20 grams
- Lanis Tierra McCoy, 31, charged with driving while license suspended/revoked
- Dallas Craig Brown, 68, charged with possession of drug paraphernalia
- Lincoln Garret Munch, 25, charged with possession of drug paraphernalia
- Ethan Cole Menefee, 21, charged with possession of cannabis under 20 grams and possession of drug paraphernalia
- Vincent L. Mitchell Sr., 46, charged with driving while license suspended/revoked (habitual), possession of cannabis under 20 grams and possession of drug paraphernalia
Fuller had 38 previous arrests, Robinson had 37 previous arrests and Mitchell had 34 previous arrests.
Wells said some of the arrests are considered huge wins for his agency.
“We recovered a gun off the street from a convicted felon. We don't know yet if that gun was stolen, but we continue to look for that in a particular case,” Wells said. “Our deputies engaged in a foot pursuit, and the suspect threw the gun on the roof of a little business and through the help of the fire department, we were able to recover that gun.”
The Sheriff's Office said the overall crime rate has gone down 40 percent in Putnam County.