6 arrested in drug raid prompted by neighbor complaints

Needles, meth, pills found in St. Augustine home, deputies say

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Complaints from neighbors about needles in their yards and suspicious traffic in and out of a home on Tanager Road prompted a drug raid Tuesday that ended with six arrests, St. Johns County deputies said.

According to the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, a search warrant was executed at the home, and investigators found hypodermic needles, glass pipes and other drug paraphernalia, along with traces of methamphetamine and bottles filled with unprescribed Xanax pills.

The six arrested in the raid were:

  • Joseph Barta, 48 -- possession of a controlled substance
  • Deborah Green, 53 -- possession of ammunition by a felon, meth possession, possession of drug equipment and violation of probation
  • James Green, 56 -- possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug equipment
  • Patricia Ryan, 66 -- meth possession, possession of drug equipment
  • Joseph Vespucci, 35 -- possession of drug equipment
  • Stephanie Sheree Edenfield, 44 -- resisting an officer without violence and tampering with evidence

Deputies said Deborah Green lives at the home, where they found pill bottles, a crystal substance, a tin can with needles, plastic baggies and spoons, a digital scale, a glass pipe with white residue, three clear baggies with white residue that tested positive for meth and ammunition in a black box. 

Deborah Green has been on probation since Oct. 8 on a grand theft conviction.

WATCH: Deputies say 6 arrested in St. Augustine drug raid

Deputies said they found a needle in the pocket of James Green, and found a bottle filled with Xanax pills that he tried to hide by sitting on it.

Patricia Ryan had a glass pipe and plastic baggies with meth residue on them, deputies said, and two needles were found in Vespucci's pocket.

Deputies said Edenfield tried to kick evidence that an investigator had placed on the ground and then refused to let go of a chair when deputies tried to take her to a transport van.

After the arrests, neighbors said it was obvious what was happening at the house, and they hope the Sheriff's Office follows up, keeping track of the activity at the home.

"Living right across from that, having to see it and so much traffic, you know, it’s just awful," Connie Poppen said. "People in the neighborhood are so nice and quiet people. They’re all just Christian people."