Washington County busts Mexico-based drug cartel

Area deputies and investigators have helped put a big dent in a Mexico-based drug cartel that was allegedly using three houses in Washington County as a base to distribute marijuana all across the state.

Officers arrested a dozen people in raids Monday night and in subsequent searches this week. They seized more than 75 weapons, 217 bundles of marijuana and $617,891 in cash. Four of the people arrested are from Vernon.

According to a press release from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, the arrests were the result of a months-long investigation by that agency and the Chipley Police Department, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, and federal agencies including Homeland Security/ICE, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Canine teams from prisons in Holmes and Walton counties and the Northwest Florida Reception Center were also used in the case.

Three warrants were served Monday on residences at Jeter Lane, Miller’s Ferry Road and Holmes Valley Road, all in the Washington County community of Vernon.

The investigation focused on a Mexican drug operation known as the Gulf Cartel, officials said. The cartel’s reported mission was to move drugs from McAllen, Texas, to the safe houses in Vernon, then use those as major distribution points for drugs that were sold in Bay, several neighboring counties and larger cities farther south and east, like Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville.

As the Monday raids were taking place, several suspects ran into the surrounding woods. Federal air resources and canines were used to help round up nine of them that night.

Officers went out again early the next morning and found two more. The 12th suspect was captured Wednesday, with the help of a citizen’s tip.

Each person arrested in the case was charged with conspiracy/possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

The Vernon residents arrested were Charles A. Armstrong, Rufus D. Curington, Joseph K. Jeter and James Paul Walker. Their individual addresses were not immediately available, and officials did not say whether any of them had direct ties to the places raided.

Cities of residence were not immediately available for the other suspects. They are James Moore, Alberto Gomez, Jesus A. Gonzales, Alejandro Amaya, Daniel Nunez, Jamie Rodriguez-Sandoval, Yerryn Tumbajoy, and Jesus Servado Rodriguez-Sandoval.

Chipley Police Chief Kevin Crews was quoted in the press release, “We can’t help but take it personal when our county is used as a hub for this type of illegal drug activity,” he stated. “At the end of the day, we will do what it takes to let these guys know our city and county are not safe havens for narcotics operations large or small. It is because of the responsiveness of all involved that we can put these suspects behind bars.”

In the release, Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock likewise pointed to teamwork as the key to the success of the mission.

“A raid of this magnitude takes a tremendous amount of support and seamless effort ,” Haddock said. “ When we hear about a major operation being dismantled in our county, we rarely have insight into the inception of the investigation. In this case, it was old-fashioned police work by our local law enforcement officers whose initiative and attention to detail is the reason we are able to report such a successful raid . Today, our community is a safer place to live.”