JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Sheriff T.K. Waters announced Tuesday a long-term investigation resulting in multiple arrests and seizures.
Terry Brownlee, 41, Damon Worrell, 21, and Anthony Stevens (a convicted felon for possession of a concealed firearm), 36, were arrested on drug trafficking and firearms charges after 34 guns and large quantities of drugs were seized in a raid on a drug house on North Pearl Street in the Tallulah-North Shore area of Jacksonville, Waters said.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit served a search warrant on the house Saturday, June 17, 2023, after JSO received complaints about drug activity from citizens.
Police recovered 34 firearms, seven of which were reported stolen. JSO is running ballistics tests to see if any were used in shootings. Some of the guns had been modified with gun switches to make them automatic. Some guns had laser sights and extended magazines.
Officers also seized 54 grams of fentanyl, 30 ounces of MDMA, eight ounces of powder cocaine, as well as 14.4 grams of crack cocaine, marijuana, a trafficking amount of oxycodone and hydrocodone, $8,700 in cash and a bullet-proof vest.
Stevens is facing the bulk of the charges, including trafficking, firearms, and child neglect, JSO said. JSO said a minor was in the house when the raid occurred.
Stevens is being held without bond. Worrell is charged with possession of cocaine and resisting police. Brownlee is charged with possession of marijuana and resisting police. Those two have already bonded out of jail.
Al Panti is the owner of US Patriot Firearms. He’s both a licensed gun dealer and gunsmith with a license to legally convert semi-automatic weapons into full-automatic guns for law enforcement and active members of the military. He said the conversion of guns like police found allows a gun owner to run a 15-round drum off in three or four seconds.
Guns are often the tools of illegal drug activity and law enforcement has long said illegal narcotics fuel gun violence on the streets, especially in Jacksonville. In some recent shootings, witnesses have told News4JAX that they heard a full-automatic weapon being fired because it has a distinct sound compared to the firing of a semi-automatic gun.
Panti said the use of full-automatic handguns by someone who is not formally trained to use full-automatic can pose a danger to innocent bystanders.
And here’s why.
If you’re not properly holding the gun when you pull the trigger, the recoil causes the gun to aim in different directions other than the intended target.