Deputies seize methamphetamine, heroin during drug raidCLAY HILL – Clay County deputies seized nearly three-quarters of a pound – 325 grams – of methamphetamine Oct. 31 during a …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
To continue reading, you will need to either log in to your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.
If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free website account and connect your subscription to it by clicking here.
If you are a digital subscriber with an active, online-only subscription then you already have an account here. Just reset your password if you've not yet logged in to your account on this new site.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continueDon't have an ID?Print subscribersIf you're a print subscriber, but do not yet have an online account, click here to create one. Non-subscribersClick here to see your options for subscribing. Single day passYou also have the option of purchasing 24 hours of access, for $1.00. Click here to purchase a single day pass. |
Deputies seize methamphetamine, heroin during drug raid
CLAY HILL – Clay County deputies seized nearly three-quarters of a pound – 325 grams – of methamphetamine Oct. 31 during a drug raid at 5469 County Road 218 West.
Keith Wallace Williams, 60, was charged with possession of methamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia, as well as maintaining a home used for illegal drugs, following a drug raid by the sheriff’s office narcotics, street crimes and SWAT team units.
As deputies swarmed the property, they found Paul Simmons, 48, of Middleburg, in a work shed. He was charged with possession of methamphetamine, heroin and drug paraphernalia.
CCSO reportedly found methamphetamine on the front porch, in a camper, shed and bedroom. They also found 60 milliliters of heroin in a syringe near the camper. Deputies said it’s one of the largest seizures of methamphetamine they’ve had in months.
CCSO: Man caught after buying car with counterfeit check
ORANGE PARK – A Middleburg man was arrested for buying cars with counterfeit checks, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office said.
John Kendrick Baebel, 42, was arrested Oct. 29 after he reportedly wrote a fake check for $12,078 to Ride Now Powersports. He also may be connected to other counterfeit check-for-cars cases in Jacksonville.
Authorities added grand theft charges on Nov. 5 after the agency said he stole a trailer from a Middleburg storage yard and tried to sell it.
Baebel, who also has a warrant in Volusia County for grand theft, was staying in a local hotel room, CCSO said. Inside, they found blank cardstock-grade paper and a digital printer.
Baebel remained in the Clay County Jail with a $100,009 bond.
K9 Diesel sniffs out heroin during routine traffic stop
MIDDLEBURG – Clay County Sheriff’s Office K9 Diesel sniffed out drugs during a routine traffic stop for an improper license tag.
Amy Louise Spicer, 34, of Middleburg, was arrested on Oct. 31 on an outstanding warrant for possession of heroin and drug paraphernalia.
Deputies stopped a pickup truck on April 11 on Blanding Boulevard during a “proactive” patrol. Spicer was the passenger and CCSO said she dropped a plastic bag with a “white powdery substance.” K9 Diesel confirmed the presence of drugs. A search also uncovered three syringes and two metal spoons.
Driver without headlights killed in Orange Park crash
ORANGE PARK – A man was killed and four others were injured late Tuesday when his truck was struck by a car turning into Park Central Plaza on Park Avenue.
The Florida Highway Patrol still was working to identify the man early Wednesday, but the agency said the truck was driving southbound on U.S. 17 at 11:13 p.m. without its headlights when a Chevrolet driven by Michael Damon Chiellino, 52, of Middleburg was driving northbound before turning into the plaza.
The driver of the truck was killed at the scene, FHP said. Two passengers in the truck, both of Columbia, South Carolina, were taken to Orange Park Medical Center with minor injuries, while the passenger in the Chevrolet, Melissa Rose Chiellno, 41, of Middleburg, was listed in critical condition.
Drugs found inside car during traffic stop for burned-out tag light
MIDDLEBURG – A traffic stop for a burned-out tag light ended up with two people going to jail.
Daniel Lafon Baumgartner, 39, of Jacksonville, was charged Nov. 5 with possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, while Katrena Ann Hobbs, 37, also of Jacksonville, was arrested for an outstanding warrant for violation of her parole for driving without a license.
According to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, Baumgartner was pulled over for not having tag lights on Brickyard Road after turning off College Drive. During the stop, K9 Cash alerted deputies to the possible presence of drugs. Deputies recovered .77 grams of methamphetamine and two pipes.
Hobbs then was arrested after deputies learned she had an outstanding warrant.
Repairman arrested for taking money, doing no work
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS – An Interlachen man was arrested and charged with scamming money from a couple to make storm repairs.
Jason M. Mills Jr., 21, was charged Nov. 1 with obtaining property of less than $20,000 after he took a $1,000 down payment another $400 for materials for a $2,600 job on Aug. 26. Clay County Sheriff’s Office deputies said Mills never started the project.
Navy veteran dies in Lake Asbury airplane crash
LAKE ASBURY – A Navy veteran died when his airplane struck power lines and crashed nearly two miles into a heavily-wooded area near County Road 218 at Henley Road on Nov. 1.
Timothy O’Laughlin, 73, of Green Cove Springs, took off from Haller Airpark in Green Cove Springs in a light homebuilt Van’s RV-4 shortly before 5 p.m. The accident caused nearly 6,000 residents in Lake Asbury, Clay Hill, Orange Park and Middleburg to lose power, according to Clay Electric.
O’Laughlin is the second Van RV-4 pilot based at Haller to be killed in an accident in five months. Robert Henry Woolley, 74, was killed on May 29 when he collided with another Van RV-4 piloted by David Alston Dollarhide as they flew near the Clay County Fairgrounds.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
Woman killed while crossing County Road 218
MIDDLEBURG – An 81-year-old woman was killed after she was struck by two cars while walking along County Road 218 on Nov. 1.
Louise Gonzalez was pronounced dead at the scene after she was struck by a westbound car while crossing the road at 5:30 a.m. She was thrown into the eastbound lane where she was hit by another car.