Drug busts have brought down overdoses and deaths in Manatee County, cops say
A federal-local takedown of almost three dozen suspected heroin dealers during the past year is being credited with a sharp decline in the number of drug overdoses and drug-related deaths in Manatee County.
So far in the second half of 2017, there have been 236 suspected overdoses in the county, a 78.1 percent drop from the 1,076 overdoses during the same period last year. Drug-related deaths have dropped by 75.3 percent, from 89 in the second half of 2016 to 22 during the same period in 2017, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Rick Wells and other officials touted the declines and the results of Operation Hot Batch, a federal-local investigation of drug activity in the county, during a news conference Tuesday.
During the operation, 34 people have been indicted on federal drug charges, with another 20 also facing prosecution, officials said.
Since 2014, when the opioid epidemic spiked in Manatee County — the epicenter of the crisis in Florida, with the highest number of deaths per capita — investigators have worked around the clock to target people selling heroin, fentanyl and other drugs.
During the Hot Batch investigation, which started in November 2016, authorities seized 2.8 kilos of heroin and fentanyl, 294 grams of methamphetamine, 2.5 kilograms of cocaine, 11 handguns, one shotgun and $152,605 in currency and assets, according to officials.
“They know they are killing people. They do not care. All they care about is making money off of the deaths of others,” Wells said. “When they have a client who is no longer with them, they move on to the next one. It’s all about making money. It doesn’t get any lower than that in my opinion.”
The 2.8 kilos of heroin and fentanyl included half a kilo of pure fentanyl, which was extremely significant, DEA Deputy Special Agent Jaime Camacho stressed.
“Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid which is extremely, extremely lethal, and dangerous and deadly,” Camacho said. “Just a few grams of this substance can kill one upon contact or exposure. These individuals or officers put their life on the line by seizing a pound of this substance.”
The multi-jurisdictional operation had stopped the flow of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of heroin into the community.
“I think it’s safe to say that we saved many lives,” Camacho said. “Even though this organization’s vast network spanned across this entire region, it was not enough to evade the detection and arrest by the DEA and our law enforcement partners here. Today is the end of the road for this drug trafficking network.”
A lot of the drug supply was coming from Mexico.
Operation Hot Batch was a joint operation involving the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, along with Manatee County Sheriff’s Office and the Bradenton and Sarasota police departments.
“This is only the beginning,” Wells said. “We are far from done. There are suspects out there right now that we will be indicting and we will continue to work as hard as we can to locate these dealers and prosecute them. This will be the norm. This will be how we operate from this point forward.”
Wells wanted others dealers to know, “We are coming for you.”
Operation Hot Batch focused on dealers, Wells stressed on Tuesday, not addicts.
“Drug dealers don’t use for the most part. They sell. That’s why there are so many of them,” the sheriff said. “They are using. They are not dying.”
Addicts, on the other hand, are just focused on getting their next fix, he said.
Lowest of low
The majority of those indicted or still facing charges are full-time drug dealing as their only source of income, Wells explained.
“For the most part, for most of them, this is all they do because this is all they know how to do because they aren’t smart enough to do anything else so they just sell drugs all day every day,” Wells said.
But among them, one dealer stuck out as the worse of the bunch: George Calhoun.
“George Calhoun, I think he is about as low as you could go as a drug dealer,” Wells said.
Calhoun’s client base appeared to have been dwindling, and was searching for new clientele, the sheriff explained.
“So he decided that he would go to one of our local treatment facilities, and sell drugs in the parking lot, knowing that these people could not resist the temptation of what he was provided,” Wells said. “Now there is a place for George Calhoun, worse than any prison I could ever put him in. Until that judgment day comes, he can just sit in prison and think about what he’s done.”
Jessica De Leon: 941-745-7049, @JDeLeon1012
Those 34 dealers indicted are:
- Traveous Anderson, 31, of Palmetto, pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute and distribution of fentanyl. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
- George Calhoun, 41, Bradenton, is charged with three counts of distribution of carfentanil and faces up to 20 years in prison.
- Manvel L. Canady, 26, of Palmetto, is charged with two counts of distribution and possession with the intent to distribute carfentanil. He faces up to 20 years in prison
- Michael Bernard Code, 36, of Bradenton, pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute cocaine and faces up to 20 years in prison.
- Gavino Corona, 24, of Bradenton, is charged with two counts of distribution and possession with the intent to distribute carfentanil. He faces up to 20 years in prison
- Shane Daniels, 26, of Manatee County, pleaded guilty to three counts of distribution of crack, two counts of distribution of carfentanil; one count of distribution of heroin and carfentanil; one count of distribution of heroin, fentanyl, and carfentanil and one count of distribution of heroin. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
- Tanikous Daughtry, 39, of Bradenton, is charged with possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and possession with the intent to distribute crack cocaine. He faces up to 30 years in prison.
- Ever Marie Davis, 46, of Bradenton, is charged with possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin. She faces up to 20 years in prison.
- Kwame Henri, 26, of Bradenton, 26, of Bradenton, pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
- Jamey Michael Hardy, 44, of Bradenton, is charged with four counts of distribution of methamphetamine and one count of distribution of heroin. He face up to 20 years in prison on each count.
- Carla Marie Hendrickson, 38, of Bradenton, Pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin. She faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
- Shaunquez S. Houston, 26, of Bradenton, pleaded guilty to distribution of crack cocaine, heroin, carfentanil, and methamphetamine. She was sentenced to five years probation.
- Jerrell Jackson, 29, Bradenton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute carfentanil and distribution and possession with intent to distribute carfentanil. He was sentenced to 18 months probation.
- David E. Johnson, 36, of Bradenton, is charged with distribution of fentanyl resulting in death and distribution of fentanyl. He faces up to life in prison.
- Tony Marvin Johnson, 34, of Bradenton, pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute cocaine. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
- Andrew Aaron Kutt, 46, of Bradenton, pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. He faces up to life in prison with a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years.
- Corey Matthews 29, of Bradenton, is charged with possession of fentanyl with the intent to distribute and possession of crack cocaine with the intent to distribute. He faces up to 30 years in prison.
- Jarvis McCants 29, of Lecanto, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl. He was sentenced to 12 years and 7 months in prison.
- Kevon Melendez 22, of Bradenton, is charged with possession with the intent to distribute carfentanil and possession with the intent to distribute cocaine. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
- Shavon Montgomery 37, of Bradenton, is charged with two counts of distribution of crack cocaine, one count of distribution of heroin and fentanyl and one count distribution of heroin, carfentanil, and fentanyl. He faces up to 30 years in prison.
- Troy J. Perkins 35, of Bradenton, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl. He was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison.
- Woodrow Pressey 46, of Bradenton, is charged with one count of possession of cocaine and fentanyl with the intent to distribute and one count of possessing firearms as a convicted felon. He faces up to 30 years in prison.
- Brandon J. Randolph 29, of Bradenton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, carfentanil, and fentanyl. He faces up to 30 years in prison.
- Davion Rivers 22, of Bradenton, is charged with distribution of hydromorphone; distribution of heroin, carfentanil, methamphetamine, and furanyl fentanyl; distribution of furanyl fentanyl; and distribution of heroin, fentanyl, and furanyl fentanyl. He faces up to 20 years in prison on each count.
- Bryan Luis Lopez Rosario 27, of Bradenton, is charged with two counts of distribution of heroin and morphine and four counts distribution of heroin. He faces up to 20 years in prison on each count.
- Anthony Sanchez 25, of Bradenton, pleaded guilty to distributing carfentanil and possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
- Skyler C. Sanders 32, of Bradenton, is charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, carfentanil, and fentanyl; distribution of crack cocaine; distribution of crack cocaine, heroin, cocaine, carfentanil, and fentanyl; conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and carfentanil; and conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine. He faces up to 30 years in prison.
- Jateria Simmons 28, of Palmetto, is charged with two counts of distribution of heroin and fentanyl. He faces up to 30 years in federal prison.
- Jonathan Solomon 29, of Bradenton, is charged with five counts of distribution and possession with the intent to distribute heroin. He faces up to 30 years in prison.
- Michael Taylor, Sr. 46, Bradenton, of pleaded guilty to possession of fentanyl with the intent to distribute. He was sentenced to 27 months in prison.
- Latessa Timmons 35, of Bradenton, is charged with four counts of possession with the intent to distribute and distribution of fentanyl. He faces up to 20 years in prison on each count.
- Jennifer Lynn Varvel 35, of Bradenton, is charged with possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
- Sergio Viera 26, of Bradenton, pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. He was sentenced to six years and one month in prison.
- Rakim Waters, 27, of Bradenton, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute carfentanil; two counts of distribution and possession with the intent to distribute heroin and carfentanil; two counts of distribution and possession with the intent to distribute carfentanil; and one count distribution and possession with the intent to distribute heroin. He was sentenced to 48 months probation.
This story was originally published December 19, 2017 at 4:14 PM with the headline "Drug busts have brought down overdoses and deaths in Manatee County, cops say."