According to law enforcement authorities with the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, 24 people were arrested following an undercover drug bust operation in Fort Pierce. The arrests happened on July 22 following a 2-month investigation by undercover officers working with confidential informants. It is unclear whether any of the 24 people have retained help from a Fort Pierce drug possession criminal lawyer yet.
At 3 p.m. on July 22, officers with several units of the Sheriff’s Office, the Fort Pierce Police Department, the DEA, ATF and HSI executed a search warrant at a home on North 24th Street in the 1300 block. At that time, law enforcement officers took seven people into custody for their roles in allegedly selling heroin and crack cocaine. They also reported that they found 99 capsules of crack cocaine, 33 of methamphetamine, numerous empty pill capsules that are commonly used in packaging drugs and a 9 mm handgun.
Following the search warrant execution, police then remained on scene, conducting reverse drug buys in order to arrest people who came to purchase drugs. Seventeen more people were taken into custody during that span of time. The whole operation, including the search warrant execution and the reverse drug buys, took around 8 hours.
Officers reported that a number of people who were taken into custody had outstanding warrants for other alleged crimes, including grand theft and larceny. Law enforcement officers indicated that people who are addicted to drugs often commit other crimes in order to facilitate getting more drugs. In addition to the drugs and paraphernalia, officers also reportedly found two vehicles and a golf cart that had been stolen at the home.
Officers said the people who were selling drugs from the home had erected a wooden fence around it to conceal their activities, and some of the dealers who sold drugs concealed their faces using masks while doing so. Law enforcement officers also stated that one person who allegedly sold drugs traded drugs for sex with some of the female customers.
The law in Florida
Under the law in Florida, a Fort Pierce criminal lawyer will explain that drugs are classified according to schedules. These schedules divide drugs into categories, some of which are always illegal to possess. It can take a very small amount to get charged with possession of drugs with the intent to deliver. For example, a person can be sentenced to 3 years in prison if he or she is caught with as few as seven pills of hydrocodone without a valid prescription.
Contact a Fort Pierce criminal lawyer
If you or someone you know are facing similar charges, you will likely need strong legal representation. Contact the law firm of Jonathan Jay Kirschner, Esq. & Associates to learn how we might be able to help protect your rights.
