Nassau County Sheriff’s Office
Press Release
Bill Leeper, Sheriff
December 20 2018 1:29 p.m.
The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office announced the results of Operation City Sweep, which was an operation to reduce illegal drug activity within the city of Fernandina Beach.
Over the past several months the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Division, working with the State Attorney’s Office 4th Judicial Circuit in Nassau County, has conducted numerous undercover drug operations in the city of Fernandina Beach, due to complaints of drug activity by citizens, anonymous crime stoppers tips and numerous drug-related medical calls.
“The people who were involved in this operation are not your casual drug user,” said Sheriff Bill Leeper. “These are drug dealers and repeat offenders.”
A total of 30 people were arrested for various felony drug-related charges during Operation City Sweep, resulting in 118 charges (97 Felony & 21 Misdemeanor). Items seized were 60 grams of pills; 26 grams of Cocaine; 34.5 grams of Methamphetamine; 53 grams of Heroin; 214 grams of Marijuana; $7,998 cash; 4 handguns; 2 vehicles.
“So far during 2018, fourteen people have died as a result of drug overdoses in Nassau County,” said Leeper. “People who buy illegal drugs are playing Russian roulette with their lives. They have no idea what the drugs are cut with, or their potential potency.”
The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office is continually seeking the community’s help in reducing illegal drug activity and asks anyone who knows someone dealing illegal drugs to please let them know.
“We have made it clear that if you sell illegal drugs in Nassau County we’re going to target you through one of our operations,” Leeper said. “If we didn’t get you in the past and didn’t get you this time, hopefully we’ll get you in the future. This operation serves as a reminder that we will not tolerate this kind of activity in our community,” added Leeper.
Those arrested during Operation City Sweep were:
• Randall Grey Jones, Sale of Methamphetamine, Age 30, Fernandina Beach
• Erica Danielle Barber, Sale of Methamphetamine, Age 40, Fernandina Beach
• Jonel Bernabe Rios, Possession and Sale of Controlled Substance, Age 20, Fernandina Beach
• Joseph Daniel Eusey, Trafficking in Heroin, MDMA and Opiates, Age 41, Fernandina Beach
• Jordan Keith Warner, Sale of Marijuana, Age 19, Fernandina Beach
• Victoria Morgan Altman, Sale of Cocaine, Age 27, Fernandina Beach
• Danny Dewayne Dawson, Sale of Cocaine, Age 41, Fernandina Beach
• Marlenea Rose Carter, Possession of Methamphetamine, Age 41, Fernandina Beach
• Nason Vincent Jones, Sale of Controlled Substance, Age 31, Fernandina Beach
• Gerrick Roshuard Melton, Sale of Cocaine, Age 28, Fernandina Beach
• Angela Dawn Greene, Sale of Controlled Substance, Age 51, Yulee
• George Charles Delmar, Sale of Methamphetamine, Age 53, Fernandina Beach
• Shawn David Jones, Sale of Methamphetamine, Age 39, Fernandina Beach
• Chyna Louise Romedy, Sale of Controlled Substance, Age 18, Fernandina Beach
• Christy Danielle Watkins, Sale of methamphetamine, Age 24, Fernandina Beach
• Samantha Elizabeth Gilmer, Sale of Methamphetamine, Age 31, Jacksonville
• Laquan Reshard Richo, Sale of Methamphetamine, Age 29, Fernandina Beach
• Jason Brandon Harris, Sale of Controlled Substance/Heroin, Age 36, Fernandina Beach
• Terri Anne Dubberly, Sale of Controlled Substance/Heroin, Age 34, Yulee
• Crystal Danielle Fletcher, Sale of Methamphetamine, Age 38, Fernandina Beach
• Andrea Simmons Rowland, Sale of Methamphetamine, Age 41, Fernandina Beach
• Brian David McAndrew, Sale of Marijuana, Age 39, Fernandina Beach
• Leah Michelle Gosline, Sale of Methamphetamine, Age 41, Fernandina Beach
• Chandler Lee Cook, Sale of Marijuana, Age 27, Fernandina Beach
• David Lamar James, Jr., Sale of Marijuana, Age 25, Fernandina Beach
• James Daniel Barber, Possession of Methamphetamine and Heroin, Possession of Firearm by Convicted Felon, Age, 33, Yulee
• Mandi Marie Hatch, Sale of Methamphetamine, Age 39, Yulee
• Reginald Brown II, sale of Cocaine, Age 35, Fernandina Beach
• Jacqueline Marie Rogers, Sale of Methamphetamine, Age 30, Fernandina Beach
• Holly Nicole Poling, Possession of Controlled Substance, Age 24, Yulee
A couple of interesting observations during this operation were:
• Jonel Bernabe Rios was selling drugs at and near Central Park, where kids gather to play. He is a self-described member of the street gang “Folk Nation.” We found brass knuckles, a sawed-off shotgun, 2 handguns, and bong masks inside his residence.
• James Daniel Barber, who is a convicted felon, showed and offered to sell a hand gun in his possession to undercover individuals. He stated that he didn’t know if it had any “bodies” on it yet (meaning shot anyone), but he was pretty sure it was “hot.” It had not been reported as stolen yet.
• Many of these drugs were sold near schools and churches in the community.
The “War on Drugs” has been a failure. Perhaps a better approach is to adopt the attitude that if someone wants to drink aqua velva or snort battery acid, let them do it. Just don’t ask the taxpayer to pay for their upkeep. The annual cost of keeping someone incarcerated is not cheap. And besides someone may get better all on their own, without outside intervention. Yet if someone steals or robs from someone – or somehow deceives one in a financial matter – especially a senior citizen – the perpetrator needs to go to jail. We have lots of good laws that protect the public from that type of activity. Yet it appears that those laws are not often enforced when the culprit comes from the financial services industry.
I would really like to open up the Fernandina Observer one day and see an article that details the arrest of “bankers” and “financial executives.” They could maybe be sent to jail for putting contrived numbers on annual financial statements – or billing financial accounts for contrived services. This would seem to serve the public better.