Marijuana, guns, $86,000 seized, two arrested in drug bust

A special delivery landed two local men in jail last Friday and gave Jackson County authorities one of their most significant drug busts in recent history.
More than $86,000 in cash, 44 pounds of marijuana and an armload of firearms were seized, along with small amounts of cocaine and high-grade methamphetamine known as “ice.”
According to authorities, 27-year-old Travis Adam Walker of Grand Ridge is charged with trafficking in marijuana in the case.
Carlos Jared Edenfield, 26, of Grand Ridge is charged with trafficking in marijuana, possession of cocaine and high-grade “ice” methamphetamine,  and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, authorities said.
Authorities said the Jackson County Drug Task Force had the Walker home at 6727 Yearling St. under surveillance as part of an ongoing investigation, and sent an undercover officer to his house acting as a commercial courier whose job it was to deliver a package.
Investigators lay in wait until Edenfield arrived to pick up the items, then pursued him as he left the house in a vehicle.
An officer with the Florida Highway Patrol’s Contraband Interdiction Team tried to pull him over on Florida Street in front of Grand Ridge Elementary School, but he kept driving and turned east on Old Spanish Trail, authorities said. At Old Spanish Trail’s intersection with McKeown Mill Road, Edenfield lost control of the vehicle and it overturned, trapping him inside. He was extracted from the vehicle and taken to Jackson Hospital, where he was treated and then released into law enforcement’s custody.
Inside the vehicle, authorities found the marijuana, 12 grams of “ice,” six grams of cocaine, and a .40-caliber automatic handgun.
In a subsequent search of Edenfield’s home in Grand Ridge, listed in jail documents as 6879 First St., investigators also found and seized more than $86,000 in cash from a dresser drawer, two more handguns and three long guns.
Edenfield’s bail was set at $45,000 and after posting ten percent of the total he was released Monday to await further action in the case.
Walker’s bail was set at $10,000, and he was released last Saturday after posting ten percent of the total.
Sheriff John P. McDaniel said it is believed the marijuana came from sources in Mexico, and that an investigation of the case continues.
Agencies involved include the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Chipley Police Department, the Florida Highway Patrol and the Jackson County Drug Task Force.