Chris Gollon
The Volusia Sheriff's Office is touting the dismantling of a major drug trafficking ring, according to a news release on Thursday. 38 suspects are facing charges for what the VSO is calling 'Operation Wild 'N' Out', with most of those 38 already having been arrested.
The operation was expansive, with the organization being alleged to have sold drugs in Daytona Beach, Port Orange, New Smyrna Beach, Edgewater, Oak Hill, and Deltona. Pomona Park, a town in Putnam County, is also said to have been a site of business for the drug ring. They allegedly moved fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine.
The VSO said they seized over a kilogram of fentanyl, over 19 pounds of methamphetamine, 69 grams of cocaine, and some of the equipment to manufacture and package the drugs before they were taken out into the community for sale. One raid in particular, carried out on Essex Road in Daytona, resulted in the discovery of 75 grams of fentanyl in a baby diaper.
“It takes a team effort to bring down a drug trafficking organization like this, and that’s exactly what we did in this investigation,” Sheriff Mike Chitwood said in the VSO's statement. “Today we put a bunch of drug dealers in jail and made a major dent in the fentanyl, heroin and meth supply in our community. But we know our work is never done, and we have to pick it right back up tomorrow.”
The lead teams on the investigation were the Volusia Bureau of Investigation and the East Volusia Narcotics Task Force, according to the VSO. Involved agencies who worked the case included the following:
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
- Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE)
- Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)
- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
- Central Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (CF HITDA)
- DeLand Narcotics Enforcement Team
- West Volusia Narcotics Task Force
- VSO SWAT Team
- FDLE SWAT Team
“Thankful to our law enforcement partners for shutting down this massive drug trafficking ring in Volusia County and getting this deadly poison off our streets," said Florida State Attorney Ashley Moody of the sting. "Now our statewide prosecutors will ensure these 38 drug traffickers are held accountable for their crimes."
"Disrupting drug trafficking organizations is a critical part of the FBI mission, and we are proud to work side-by-side with our federal, state, and local partners to make Florida a safer place,” added Kristin Rehler, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Field Office – Daytona Beach Resident Agency. "The FBI and our partners will continue to use every legal means available to rid our communities of dangerous drug distributors and the wanton destruction their activities create.”
A list of individuals who were arrested or already in custody as of Thursday was included by the Volusia Sheriff’s Office. Age and city of residence are listed in parentheses, with charges below.
- Kevin Allen (47, Daytona Beach)
- Conspiracy to traffic in meth
- Unlawful financial transactions
- Unlawful usage of a two-way communication device
- Kyle Antonelli (36, Edgewater)
- Conspiracy to traffic in fentanyl/meth
- Unlawful usage of a two-way communication device
- Crystal Brown (41, Edgewater)
- Conspiracy to traffic in fentanyl/meth
- Solicitation to deliver cocaine
- Unlawful usage of a two-way communication device
- Kevin Cutlip (51, Daytona Beach)
- Conspiracy to traffic in fentanyl/meth
- Unlawful usage of a two-way communication device
- Derick Gray (23, Flagler Beach)
- Conspiracy to traffic in fentanyl/meth
- Unlawful usage of a two-way communication device
- Khyree Isaac (24, Daytona Beach)
- Conspiracy to traffic in fentanyl/meth
- Trafficking in fentanyl/meth
- Unlawful financial transactions
- Manufacturing fentanyl/cocaine
- Conspiracy to manufacture fentanyl
- Manufacturing a controlled a substance
- Possession of a structure with knowledge it will be used for trafficking
- Unlawful usage of a two-way communication device
- Travis Jackson (36, Edgewater)
- Conspiracy to traffic in fentanyl/meth
- Unlawful usage of a two-way communication device
- Matthew Kelley (43, Deltona)
- Conspiracy to traffic in fentanyl
- Unlawful financial transactions
- Unlawful usage of a two-way communication device
- Wayne Kerrison (37, Oak Hill)
- Conspiracy to traffic in fentanyl/meth
- Unlawful financial transactions
- Unlawful usage of a two-way communication device
- Frank Matott (41, Edgewater)
- Conspiracy to traffic in meth
- Solicitation to deliver fentanyl
- Unlawful usage of a two-way communication device
- Allen Messer (58, Daytona Beach)
- Conspiracy to traffic in fentanyl/meth
- Solicitation to deliver fentanyl/cocaine
- Unlawful financial transactions
- Unlawful usage of a two-way communication device
- Jay Moore (49, New Smyrna Beach)
- Conspiracy to traffic in meth
- Unlawful usage of a two-way communication device
- Charles Penansky (44, Deltona)
- Conspiracy to traffic in fentanyl/meth
- Solicitation to deliver cocaine/alprazolam
- Ronald Rapley (38, Port Orange)
- Conspiracy to traffic in fentanyl
- Unlawful usage of a two-way communication device
- Roger Reigelsperger (63, Holly Hill)
- Conspiracy to traffic in fentanyl/meth
- Unlawful financial transactions
- Unlawful usage of a two-way communication device
- Melissa Seay (31, Daytona Beach)
- Conspiracy to traffic in meth
- Solicitation to deliver fentanyl
- Unlawful financial transactions
- Unlawful usage of a two-way communication device
- Brian Sims (41, Daytona Beach)
- Conspiracy to traffic in fentanyl
- Unlawful usage of a two-way communication device
- Christina Spiceland (46, Daytona Beach)
- Conspiracy to traffic in meth
- Solicitation to deliver fentanyl
- Unlawful usage of a two-way communication device
- Joseph Titsworth (33, Daytona Beach)
- Conspiracy to traffic in fentanyl/meth
- Unlawful financial transactions
- Unlawful usage of a two-way communication device
- Paulette Vickers (44, New Smyrna Beach)
- Conspiracy to traffic in meth
- Solicitation to deliver fentanyl
- Unlawful usage of a two-way communication device
- Chad Wheat (40, New Smyrna Beach)
- Solicitation to deliver fentanyl/cocaine
- Conspiracy to purchase fentanyl/cocaine
- Unlawful usage of a two-way communication device
- Paul Wheat, Sr. (68, New Smyrna Beach)
- Solicitation to deliver fentanyl/cocaine
- Conspiracy to purchase fentanyl
- Unlawful usage of a two-way communication device
- Toure Wilder (24, Port Orange)
- Conspiracy to traffic in fentanyl/meth
- Trafficking in fentanyl/meth
- Unlawful financial transactions
- Manufacturing fentanyl
- Conspiracy to manufacture fentanyl
- Unlawful usage of a two-way communication device
- Possession of drug paraphernalia
- Madeline Zinno (20, DeBary)
- Conspiracy to traffic in meth
- Solicitation to deliver fentanyl
- Unlawful usage of a two-way communication device
