Man with 16 suspended license charges arrested for fleeing CCSO

 ORANGE PARK – A man accused of racing away from Clay County Sheriff’s Office deputies after being stopped for driving without head or taillights at 11:20 p.m. was arrested more than 17 months later and charged with fleeing law enforcement with disregard for safety of others, driving with a suspended license and resisting arrest.

Phillip Michael Thomas, 40, of Jacksonville, was in the Clay County Jail with a $105,007 bond after his speed was estimated at 100 mph in a 45-mph zone on Blanding Boulevard on Oct. 20, 2024, as he sped away from deputies.

According to the affidavit for arrest report, Thomas told a deputy his license was suspended. When CCSO checked his driving background, they learned he had an active warrant in Duval for fleeing and eluding law enforcement, 16 suspended licenses, one driving cancellation and a criminal record for driving with a revoked license.

Thomas was arrested on Thursday, April 9. His next court appearance is scheduled for May 12.

Unreadable license tag lands couple in jail on drug charges

ORANGE PARK – A Clay County Sheriff’s Office deputy became suspicious of a car when he couldn’t read the license plate because of a reflective frame, and when he managed to run the plate during a stop, he discovered the registered owner’s license was suspended.

That led to a traffic stop and the eventual discovery of an assortment of pills and marijuana that landed Jordan Ann Marie Koestens, 26, of Jacksonville, in the Clay County Jail on April 11.

According to an arrest report, the stop occurred at the intersection of Blanding Boulevard and Wells Road. When the deputy approached the car, she noticed the smell of burnt marijuana, and she saw two burned marijuana cigarettes in the center console. A search of the car uncovered 14 alprazolam, two hydrocodone, two hydrochloride, one clonazepam, one morphine and one oxycodone pills and 108.65 grams of marijuana.

Koestens’ passenger, Raekwon Ahmad Fuller, 30, of Orange Park, was charged with possession of marijuana on April 11.

Koestens’ bond was set at $9,020, while Fuller’s bond was $5,003.

Drug trafficking leader gets 35 years for selling in Duval, Clay

 JACKSONVILLE – Aaron Jarvis McGhee, 40, Sumterville, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan to 35 years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl.

Johnny Angelo Pack, 51, Shikita Lashelle James, 39, Natra Antonio Jones, 33, and Bobby Warren Harvey, Jr., 28, all of Jacksonville, were also sentenced for conspiring to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl and methamphetamine. Pack, James, Jones and Harvey were sentenced to 17 years and 6 months, 14 years, 12 years and six months, and 10 years, respectively. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.

According to the court documents, in 2022 and 2023, at McGhee’s direction, Pack, James, Jones and Harvey operated a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that purchased fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine from Mexican sources of supply. They transported the drugs through Houston, Texas to Jacksonville, where the drugs were sold. McGhee, already serving a federal prison term for a prior drug conspiracy conviction, used a contraband cellphone from prison to coordinate these transactions, which resulted in drug shipments across the southern U.S. border from Mexico into Texas. As part of the conspiracy, Pack secured these drug shipments and transported them back to Jacksonville using a semi-truck. Once in Jacksonville, Pack delivered the drug shipments to residences belonging to James, who stored and distributed the drugs to retail dealers in Duval and Clay counties. James was also responsible for managing the DTO’s money.

Jones and Harvey served as runners for the organization in Jacksonville and were responsible for transporting drugs and drug proceeds.

Between March and May 2023, members of the DTO routinely flew commercially between Jacksonville and Houston. They typically stayed in Houston one day before flying back to Jacksonville. Their phone location data indicated they remained close to the airport in Houston before taking return flights. On April 28, 2023, DEA agents observed James travel to the Jacksonville International Airport where she dropped off Jones and Harvey, both of whom were scheduled to fly to Houston.

Agents observed Jones and Harvey each checking in two suitcases as luggage. The agents seized the four suitcases and secured search warrants for them. Inside the suitcases, agents recovered a total of $773,780 in cash, as well as approximately five kilograms of fentanyl.

On May 16, 2023, DEA agents executed search warrants at two of James' residences in Jacksonville, one on Mints Court, where Pack was living, and one on Cape Elizabeth Court, where James was living. Inside the Mints Court house, agents recovered approximately $28,000 in cash, approximately 5.4 kilograms of methamphetamine and four loaded firearms. Inside the Cape Elizabeth Court house, agents recovered approximately $824,900 in cash, approximately 6.7 kilograms of fentanyl, 4.4 kilograms of methamphetamine, one kilogram of heroin and five loaded firearms.

In total, between April 28 and May 16, 2023, agents seized more than 22 kilograms of fentanyl, methamphetamine and heroin from the DTO, as well as more than $1.6 million in drug proceeds. James used the drug proceeds on high-end luxury merchandise. Throughout the investigation, agents assembled evidence showing the DTO was responsible for moving thousands of kilograms of drugs in less than a year.