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Police Briefs 10/24/19

Clay County Sheriff's Office
Posted 10/23/19

CCSO find meth, pot, fentanyl during traffic stopORANGE PARK – An Orange Park couple’s trouble with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office started with a traffic stop on Oct. 16 for an …

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Police Briefs 10/24/19


Posted

CCSO find meth, pot, fentanyl during traffic stop

ORANGE PARK – An Orange Park couple’s trouble with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office started with a traffic stop on Oct. 16 for an expired tag and ended with a man being charged for possession of cocaine, marijuana and fentanyl and a woman being arrested for possession of cocaine and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription.
Kenneth Larry Smith Jr., 47, and Amber Lee Cook, 39, were arrested on Blanding Boulevard after a CCSO K9 detected illegal drugs inside the car during the traffic stop. Deputies said the recovered 2.75 grams of cocaine, .58 grams of fentanyl and 1.27 grams of marijuana from his Dodge Caravan.
Smith also was cited when deputies learned his license tag didn’t belong to the mini-van.

Tinted windows lead to big meth bust

MIDDLEBURG – The Clay County Sheriff’s Office stopped a man for illegally dark tinted windows and wound up confiscating 114.5 grams of methamphetamine.
David Chappel Fey, 55, of Belleview, was issued a warning Oct. 17 after his windows tested at just 6% visibility. He also was charged with selling, manufacturing, delivering and trafficking methamphetamine.
According to the arrest report, a deputy saw Fey’s Suzuki traveling northbound on Blanding Boulevard. The car was stopped because the windows were too dark.
A drug-sniffing dog, K9 Konan, from the Florida Highway Patrol alerted deputies of the presence of drugs. They found four bags of what later tested to be meth on the front passenger seat.

Methamphetamine bust starts with expired tag

ORANGE PARK – An expired tag led to man being arrested Oct. 16 for possession and trafficking methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office said they stopped Brandon Michael Pearson’s Nissan truck after they noticed his expired tag while he was pumping gas on Blanding Boulevard. The 40-year-old man from Jacksonville then was charged with possessing 2.7 grams of methamphetamine and a pipe after K9 Diesel detected drugs inside the vehicle.
Deputies tacked on trafficking methamphetamine on Oct. 8. A confidential informant bought 29.7 grams of meth for $440.
He was jailed with a $155,008 bond. In addition to the expired tag, Pearson also was cited for driving with a suspended license.

Man’s parole violation leads to woman’s arrest

MIDDLEBURG – Deputies made two arrests Oct. 20 when they stopped a man wanted for violating his parole.
Not only did Daniel Lee Williams, 29, of Middleburg, return to jail for violating his parole for a domestic battery conviction, deputies arrested Courtney Elaine Bentley, 21, of Middleburg, on drug charges.
Bentley was caught with methamphetamine, heroin and drug paraphernalia, according to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.
A deputy recognized Williams driving on Everette Avenue at 2 a.m., and he pulled him over for the parole violation. During the stop, the deputy noticed a scale on the center console. They also found four syringes – one loaded with heroin, 15 milliliters of heroin and 13.1 grams of methamphetamine.

Man breaks TV in fight with girlfriend, child

MIDDLEBURG – A man was jailed after an argument escalated into man breaking his girlfriend’s television and confronting a child, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office said.
Jerry Lee Jackson III, 39, of Jacksonville, was charged with child abuse, simple domestic battery and criminal mischief stemming from a fight on a home on County Road 220 on Oct. 18.
Jackson was arrested in Jacksonville and returned to Clay County, where he also now faces a violation of parole after being sentenced for grand theft.

Man faces drug charges after neighbors hear gunshots

MIDDLEBURG – Sheriff’s deputies responding to possible shots fired in the Hilltop Community caught a man with an assortment of illegal drugs.
Jarvis Dorsett Cohen, 37, was charged with possession of cocaine, bath salts (synthetic cathinone), less than 20 grams of marijuana and crack cocaine. He also was charged with resisting arrest and violation of parole in Tallahassee.
Deputies caught Cohen following a 300-yard chase. He soon passed out. During a search, deputies found the cache of drugs, including 3.3 grams of crack and bath salts, 2.2 grams of cocaine and 1.2 grams of marijuana.

CCSO: Man arrested in New Jersey for jewelry theft


GREEN COVE SPRINGS – The Clay County Sheriff’s Office and Maywood, New Jersey Police Department ended an investigation by charging a 27-year-old man with grand theft after an Orange Park man found jewelry missing from his home.
William Kirklund Hodge, of Maywood, was charged with grand theft between $10,000 and $19,999.
According to the arrest affidavit, the Orange Park man said jewelry was taken from his home while Hodge was staying there between Dec. 1, 2018 and Jan. 9 of this year. Deputies interviewed two people who apparently had access to the house during that timeframe.
Clay County deputies acted on new leads and got help from Maywood police since Hodge moved from Orange Park to Jacksonville and then to New Jersey. He was arrested on Oct. 20.

Social media contributes to finding wanted man

MIDDLEBURG – A man was arrested after being connected to a rash of car break-ins.
Mark Webster Patterson Jr., 24, of Middleburg was in the Clay County Jail after being charged with at least 10 burglaries – some along Great Falls Loop Road.
Deputies may have been assisted by information gathered on social media.
Patterson was found in a Duval County hotel and arrested by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office before being returned to Clay.
His bond is $160,030.

Woman’s parole revoked for drugs

JACKSONVILLE – A woman who was on parole for a Clay County for grand theft conviction, was arrested for petit theft and trying to elude police officers.
Amy Elizabeth Pelfrey, 40, was arrested on Oct. 19 and returned to Clay County where she’s being held without bond. In addition to the theft and fleeing charges, she was charged with violation of parole for failing to pay her monthly fees and court costs, as well as being caught with cocaine.

Middleburg man unhurt in tractor-trailer fire


JACKSONVILLE – A Middleburg truck driver escaped injury when his flatbed caught fire on Interstate 295 at State Road 9B Sunday afternoon.
Scott Crewell, 47, noticed the fire and was able to pull off the roadway and disconnect his rig from the trailer. The fire, however, closed 9B.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the fire appeared to start near the rear axle of the trailer, which was hauling three cars. The fire spread to two cars before Crewell was able to take evasive measures.

FDLE: Woman died of natural causes in Clay Jail


GREEN COVE SPRINGS – The Florida Department of Law Enforcement determined Michelle Bewley died of natural causes on March 5 while she was an inmate at the Clay County Jail.
The medical examiner said the cause of death was hypertensive heart disease as a result of chronic drug use. FDLE agreed.
“The Clay County Sheriff’s Office constantly reviews its policies and procedures to maintain best practices in the care and custody of the inmates housed in the Jail,” the Clay County Sheriff’s Office said in a release. “Although there are no cited deficiencies in the FDLE report, the Clay County Jail now houses specific medical needs inmates in the Medical housing area for closer monitoring. The Jail and Medical staff responded to the needs and treatment of Mrs. Bewley appropriately. Unfortunately, in this incident, lifesaving measures were unsuccessful.”

Two children seriously injured in ATV rollover


STARKE – Two 8-year-old children were hospitalized with serious injuries after their ATV rolled after it hit a dirt mound at a driveway.
Audrey Sullivan of Starke and Rilynn McCullough of Keystone Heights were sent to UF Health in Gainesville following the accident on Oct. 22.
The Florida Highway Patrol is still investigating the accident.