Security: Eureka Gardens drug arrests highlight cooperation with police

JSO: Month-long narcotics investigation leads to arrest of cocaine dealers

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After four people were arrested on drug charges Thursday as a result of a long-term narcotics investigation at the Eureka Gardens apartment complex on the city's Westside, the security company guarding the complex said it is working with police to clean up the property.

The four arrested at Eureka Gardens were:

  • Patrick Campbell, 19: 3 counts of selling cocaine, 3 counts of selling marijuana
  • Brittany Jackson, 27: Selling cocaine within 1,000 feet of a place of worship, marijuana possession
  • Leroy Pennington, 44: 3 counts of selling cocaine within 1,000 feet of public housing, selling heroin within 1,000 feet of a place of worship
  • Ronquesia Smart, 23: 2 counts of selling cocaine

Undercover agents executed search warrants Thursday obtained for three units at Eureka Gardens and found significant amounts of cocaine, according to the Sheriff's Office Narcotics Division.

Tracy Grant, president of the Eureka Gardens Tenant Association, said her suspicions began months ago when she would see brand-new luxury vehicles throughout the complex off Labelle Street. 

"These are unknown faces. Faces that are not in the neighborhood every day. They don't live out here, but I just had to pay attention and watch because I knew, eventually, those cars were going to tell what was going on," Grant said. 

Investigators said Thursday night's drug raid at the complex stemmed from a month-long investigation.

The private security company hired to clean up problems gave News4Jax an all-access tour of the complex on Friday and security officers said they've been trying to fix issues with drugs at the complex.

“I like when we make a difference,” said Chief Marcus Williams, of Protective Enterprises of Florida. “Making a difference is not hiding the fact that this criminal was arrested on our property. It is showing that -- shame on you. You should not have been on our property. And you shouldn't have been selling dope.”

Security officers with Protective Enterprises of Florida patrol the problem-plagued property 24/7. They said their intelligence and tips from residents at the complex helped with Thursday's drug busts.

“We have a phenomenal relationship with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office,” Capt. Vince Edwards said. “We believe in information sharing between the two of us.”

The armed officers said they’re building relationships with residents and working together to get rid of the bad elements.

“We don't sit in cars. We don't sit in vehicles. We walk the property,” Edwards said. “We get to know our residents. They get to know us. And we are just looking to foster that relationship.”

The security company's message is that drug dealing and violence are not welcome at Eureka Gardens.

Grant said one of the men arrested was living with a woman at the complex, and she will now be forced from the apartment because of the no-tolerance drug policy.

Security officers said they’re working to root out the problems at Eureka Gardens one day at a time.

The federally subsidized housing complex has been under scrutiny for its living conditions and crime, including a mass shooting last month that left seven people injured.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, has called the owner, the Rev. Richard Hamlet, a slumlord. Hamlet's Global Ministries Foundation is in the process of selling the complex and other Section 8 housing in Jacksonville and elsewhere.

Along with the four arrests at Eureka Gardens, JSO detectives arrested eight other suspected drug dealers in a city-wide enforcement, in which undercover officers made drug buys and then arrested the dealers.

The eight arrested in that crackdown were:

  • Yakita Brown, 39: Selling cocaine, possession of cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia
  • Paul Everett, 30: Selling cocaine
  • Willie Earl Johnson III, 24: Distribution of cocaine within 1,000 feet of public housing, possession of cocaine with intent to sell, resisting an officer without violence
  • Zena Knight, 49: Selling cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia
  • Antwan Maddox, 26: Selling cocaine within 1,000 feet of public housing
  • Maurice Mervin, 21: Selling cocaine, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
  • Ronald Smart, 21: Selling cocaine within 1,000 feet of a place of worship, selling cocaine within 1,000 feet of a school, selling cocaine, marijuana possession
  • Christopher Smith, 34: Selling cocaine

About the Author:

Lifetime Jacksonville resident anchors the 8 and 9 a.m. weekday newscasts and is part of the News4Jax I-Team.