Keystone man jailed  for trafficking meth after chase

MIDDLEBURG – A Keystone Heights man was caught and charged with trafficking methamphetamine following a short chase involving the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Highway Patrol and the U.S. Marshals on Blanding Boulevard on Monday, May 12.

Winthrop Anthony DeForest, 41, was also charged with attempting to flee or elude law enforcement at a high rate of speed without regard for the safety of others or property and possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia after the law enforcement agencies pulled DeForest over on Blanding at the intersection of Blanding and Rosemary Street. According to the arrest report, DeForest got out of his car but quickly returned and sped away.

Deputies attempted to use stop sticks to stop the chase, but DeForest swerved around the sticks to avoid tire damage. He eventually pulled over and surrendered north of Witch Hazel Road on Blanding.

An agency K-9 alerted deputies to the likely presence of illegal narcotics inside the car. A search uncovered two bags with an assortment of drugs, money and paraphernalia, CCSO said.

The combined weights of the drugs were .56 grams of crack cocaine and 67.9 grams of methamphetamine. Deputies also found $23,100 in cash in the car.

DeForest’s bond was set at $635,011.

Man charged with taping dog’s  mouth shut and abandoning

MIDDLEBURG – A 66-year-old Middleburg man was charged with aggravated animal cruelty after the Clay County Sheriff’s Office suspected him of abandoning another man’s dog at the Black Creek Bridge on County Road 218 on May 7.

Kembery Van Griffin was accused of applying duct tape around the black German Shepherd’s muzzle and leaving it at the bridge. A resident saw the dog in distress from heat, a lack of food, and water, and made a post on Facebook. The owner saw the post and responded.

The investigation led deputies to Griffin, and he was arrested on May 12. According to the arrest report, Griffin intentionally misled the dog’s owner and “subjected the animal to prolonged and unnecessary suffering.”

Griffin’s bond was set at $25,003.

CCSO: Man caught selling  1,000 grams of cocaine to informant

OAKLEAF – An Ocala man was arrested on Wednesday, May 7, after he sold cocaine and fentanyl to a confidential informant working with the Clay and Marion County Sheriff’s Office.

James Lee Oliver III, 45, was charged with trafficking both narcotics after the CCSO said he sold 1,000 grams of cocaine and 60.5 grams of fentanyl to the informant in the parking lot of a grocery store on Plantation Parkway.

According to the arrest report, Oliver has a criminal history “that includes previous drug arrests.” It also stated he had been to prison for selling cocaine in 2006 and 2009.

After the drugs were sold, CCSO converged on his truck and detained him and the driver. K-9 Taz conducted a sniff of the exterior of the truck and alerted deputies of the likely presence of illegal narcotics.

Deputies didn’t find any drugs in Oliver’s truck, but they found a cellphone suspected of setting up the buy. The drugs were found in the informant’s trunk.

Oliver had a pretrial hearing on May 12, and he will have a review on June 3. His bond was set at $1 million.

Argyle Forest man caught  with stolen car, cocaine, false IDs

ORANGE PARK – Clay County Sheriff’s Office deputies responding to a reported stolen car also wound up arresting an Argyle Forest man for possessing cocaine and multiple identification cards from other people.

Jarvis Bernard Teal, 36, was arrested on Wednesday, May 7, after deputies found him parked on Shenandoah Drive East. The car he was in, a Buick, was reported stolen in Jacksonville two days earlier.

According to the arrest report, Teal helped a woman move from a hotel room in Jacksonville on May 5. When she returned from the room with another load, Teal and her car were gone. She filed a report with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies said Teal had the woman’s key to the car. According to the arrest report, Teal told deputies she asked him to find the missing car and return it to her. Another deputy noticed a jar containing a white powder in the front seat. That powder tested positive for cocaine.

Teal’s bond was set at $60,008.

14-time felon pleads guilty  to having a firearm

JACKSONVILLE – U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announced that Todd Wade Powers, 38, of Middleburg, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Powers faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, up to life, in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court documents, on April 30, deputies with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a gas station regarding a missing child complaint. While attempting to locate the complainant of the missing child report, the deputies observed a car parked near a gas pump. They recognized the license plate affixed to the car as one reported stolen out of Jacksonville.

Deputies were able to see there was an open backpack on the passenger seat of the car and could see a firearm, as well as a white powdery substance, later identified as cocaine. During a search of the car, the deputies found fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana, as well as two firearms.

Through the course of their investigation, the deputies were able to link Powers to the car and Powers later admitted that the firearms and drugs belonged to him. Powers was previously convicted of 14 felonies, including three counts of possession of controlled substances, two counts of felony petit theft, seven counts of sale or delivery of controlled substances, dealing in stolen property, and false verification of ownership on a pawnbroker transaction form. Therefore, he is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and CCSO investigated this case, which is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elisibeth Adams.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.

On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities and measuring the results.