An Ocala man who already has been arrested twice this year and a woman who was arrested on drug charges in Sumter County in October 2016 were among four people taken into custody this past week by a special drug enforcement team.
Members of the Unified Drug Enforcement Strike Team (UDEST) conducted search warrants at two separate Ocala residences following tips received from concerned members of the community. As a result, two men UDEST had targeted as suspected drug dealers, 41-year-old Russell Morgan and 49-year-old James Lee Gavin, were arrested after both were found to be in possession of several illegal narcotics and drugs.
UDEST agents received information that led them to believe Morgan was dealing heroin laced with Fentanyl and ketamine from his residence at 719 SE Tuscawilla Ave., Apt. 3, in Ocala – about 50 feet from Eighth Street Elementary School.
During their investigation, agents discovered that Morgan allegedly was responsible for trafficking about 10-12 ounces of heroin per month and was known to charge $100-$200 per gram, a UDEST report states.
Members of the strike team executed the warrant at Morgan’s residence this past Thursday and found six people in the apartment. They seized heroin, crystal methamphetamine, THC oil, illegally diverted pharmaceutical drugs and drug paraphernalia (scales, bags and smoking piles), the report says.
The next day, strike team members conducted a search warrant at 506 SW 2nd Street in Ocala. Inside the home, they located Gavin and 22-year-old Lorissa Webb. Both were in possession of MDMA, methamphetamine, heroin and Fentanyl, the report says.
Morgan was charged with possession of heroin, methamphetamine and a controlled substance with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school, possession of marijuana (THC oil), possession of drug paraphernalia, a bench warrant for grand theft, a bench warrant for possession of cocaine and probation violations for possession of cocaine and grand theft.
Gavin was charged with possession of methamphetamine, Fentanyl, MDMA and heroin. His bond also was revoked on charges of driving while license suspended (habitual) and riding a motorcycle with no endorsement.
Webb was charged with possession of methamphetamine, Fentanyl, MDMA and heroin. And a fourth person, 37-year-old Cole Wayne Hill, was arrested on a parole violation as an out-of-state fugitive.
Neither Gavin nor Webb are strangers to the Central Florida legal system. In September, Gavin was arrested during a UDEST prostitution sting and charged with driving with a suspended license (habitual offender) and having no motorcycle endorsement. He also was arrested in June and charged with trafficking MDMA, possession of heroin/fentanyl, possession of methamphetamine, possession of crack cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia after a traffic stop in Ocala.
Webb was arrested on drug charges in October 2016 after a Sumter County sheriff’s deputy found heroin in a Victoria’s Secret purse during a traffic stop. After the deputy found $565 in cash and a Coach wallet containing straws and a baggie of heroin, Webb said the purse belonged to her mother and “she has a bad drug habit.”
UDEST is an initiative of the North Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. It is comprised of local, state and federal law enforcement from the Ocala Police Department, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Drug Enforcement Administration and Department of Homeland Security.