25 arrested in joint fentanyl operations in Tampa and Clearwater

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Florida’s Attorney General Ashley Moody and police from Tampa and Clearwater announced the results of joint SAFE operations during a news conference on Monday.

25 people were arrested as part of the joint operations, which targeted members of a fentanyl ring in the Tampa Bay area, AG Moody said.

“Fentanyl is the deadliest drug we have ever faced, and we are committed to aggressively getting this dangerous substance off our streets,” Moody said. “It is no coincidence that Florida leads the nation in fentanyl seizures.”

The F.D.L.E. says the investigation began with an arrest in Tampa and soon spread to both sides of the Bay as detectives discovered a large network of illegal drug distribution.

“Agents soon learned that there was a connection through Tampa and a similar Clearwater Police Department investigation and they found multiple drug trafficking organizations connected through the same supplier,” said Lee Massie with the F.D.L.E.

Massie says the suppliers in the network were dealing in very dangerous drugs.

“The material seized included 3.3 pounds of Cocaine, nearly 88 hundred Meth pills, a pound of methamphetamine,114 grams or a quarter pound of Fentanyl, and 13 firearms,” said Massie.

Debra Flanigan learned last year just how dangerous those drugs can be.

“Before it happened to my daughter, I did not have a clue, or know anything about Fentanyl or Narcan,” said Flanigan.

She says her daughter was not a drug addict, she only occasionally smoked marijuana, but last year her daughter died in her garage from a drug overdose.

“She asked for a Xanax and was given straight Fentanyl,” said Flanigan.

Clearwater Police Chief Eric Gandy says the dealers in this network combined dangerous drugs and sold them to unsuspecting buyers.

“Well, if you are co-mingling Fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine, the outcome is a foregone conclusion,” said Gandy. “Some kid is going to get the wrong pill, some kid is going to think they are buying an Adderall or an ecstasy pill and they are going to die as a result.”

The arrestees are:

• Jonathan Rivera, 36, of Tampa
• Daniel Mendoza, 28, of Tampa
• Victor George, Jr., 41, of Largo
• Frank Gutierrez, 32, of Tampa
• John Holmes, Jr., 39, of Clearwater
• Press Woods, 36, Tampa
• Jon German, 35, of Tampa
• Stanley Wright, 47, of Clearwater
• Christopher Henderson, 37, of Largo
• Antonio Hayes, Jr., 34, of St. Petersburg
• Joshua Mote, 36, of Tampa
• Kyle Smith, 28, of Largo
• Alexander Cruz, 28, of Oldsmar
• Robert Robison, 41, of Largo
• Tristan Hilton, Jr., 34, of Clearwater
• Jermaine Thurman, of Dunedin
• Michael Butler, 30, of Clearwater
• Jarvis Long, 43, of Clearwater
• Claxton Boykin, 29, of Clearwater
• Anthony Bascomb, 37, of Clearwater
• Brandon Eastwood, 43, of Clearwater
• Carolyn White, 54, of Dunedin
• Danielle Carter, 25, of St. Petersburg
• Larry Carpenter, 34, of St. Petersburg
• Reginald Boone, Jr., 25, of Palm Harbor

The suspects are facing multiple charges of drug-related crimes including trafficking fentanyl, trafficking methamphetamine, trafficking cocaine, operating a drug house, possession of drug paraphernalia and unlawful use of a 2-way communication device, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said.

You can watch the news conference in the video player above.

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