JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville firefighter was arrested July 9 on multiple felony drug and related charges stemming from a 2023 undercover narcotics investigation, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said.
LaTavior Dejuan Stephens, 43, is facing several felony counts, including sale, manufacture or delivery of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a park and within 1,000 feet of a church, conspiracy, knowingly owning a vehicle used for drug sales and unlawful use of a two-way communications device. Warrants listed bond amounts ranging from $25,003 to $50,003.
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JSO detectives said the charges stem from undercover transactions recorded Sept. 13, Sept. 20, Sept. 27 and Sept. 28, 2023, in which Stephens allegedly arranged and facilitated narcotics sales within 1,000 feet of places of worship and a city park. Detectives said the transactions were audio- and video-recorded and that evidence from the earlier incidents was placed into property.
Items seized and logged in the arrest report included small amounts of crack cocaine from the 2023 incidents, three cellphones, a Diamondback .380-caliber pistol with a five-round magazine, keys, still photos and Stephens’ Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department identification badge and an International Association of Firefighters membership card. The vehicle was towed and listed as seized.
JFRD said Stephens has been suspended without pay pending termination.
“The actions of one individual do not define the nearly two thousand men and women of JFRD who serve this community with honor every day,” the department said in a statement.
JSO noted that Stephens has prior drug-related arrests in Duval County that were later dropped or abandoned.
He was hired by JFRD on Nov. 2, 2024.