More than a dozen people have been tied to two drug trafficking organizations bringing kilos of cocaine to the streets of Jacksonville- and now the Sheriff’s Office says those groups have been dismantled.
A nine month investigation dubbed “Operation Eastbound and Down” was detailed Thursday by JSO. Chief of Homeland Security Ron Lendvay says it started with reliable information that two local men- Phillip Lee and Carlton Parrish- were dealing cocaine to several people in Jacksonville. That led investigators to two separate drug trafficking organizations, one with a leader in Miami and another led out of Houston, Texas. In all, 16 suspects have been identified.
Dismantling the drug organizations
Lendvay says they focused their efforts on the Miami leader, Patrick Johnson, first. In early July, Johnson allegedly directed Darrel Brown to drive his truck to Houston to meet with a cocaine supplier and bring the drugs back to Jacksonville. JSO, the FBI, and the Florida Highway Patrol stopped Brown on I-10 on his return trip, locating 15 kilos of cocaine and a handgun in the truck.
Three other people are believed to be tied to this network- Patrick Robinson, Shacobi Williams, and Derrick Alexander. Based on confidential source information, JSO search Williams’ home and found another 6.5 kilos of cocaine, 16.5 pounds of high grade marijuana, $141,588 cash, an assault rifle, two handguns, two vehicles, and a drug ledger detailing the operation, according to Lendvay.
At this point, investigators determined they had dismantled this organization, so they shifted efforts to the one allegedly led by Anthony Perkins in Houston.
Lendvay says Perkins was working with Antoine Pearson Sr., his son Antoine Pearson Jr., and his brother Gregory Pearson. On July 28th, JSO and the FBI traveled to Atlanta to tail Pearson Sr. and Pearson Jr. to a meeting with Perkins. Investigators tailed a truck that dropped off Perkins at the airport and found $32,000 in drug money concealed in the bed. The money was seized although the driver was released pending the ongoing investigation.
On August 21, Pearson Sr. allegedly ordered Gregory Pearson to Houston to buy drugs from Perkins. The semi Pearson was planning to drive back to Jacksonville had 11 kilos of cocaine, according to Lendvay.
The same day the semi was stopped, Perkins’ home was searched and he was arrested. $305,000 was seized. Pearson Jr. was located in the same time frame and arrested. Pearson Sr. turned himself in Wednesday.
A JSO Officer was arrested Wednesday night for helping her son- Pearson Jr.- try to elude police on charges relating to this operation. Sheriff Mike Williams says they're investigating whether she was involved with the drug organization as well, but at this time it doesn't appear she was.
Investigation results by the number
Of the 16 suspects identified in this investigation, 14 are from Jacksonville. One of them is still on the loose- Omar Collier - but Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams says he's "comfortable" he will be in custody soon. Greg Pearson is still being held in Harris County, Texas and Perkins is also still awaiting extradition.
Overall, 32.5 kilos of cocaine- with a street value of $1,579,500- was seized, along with 16.5 pounds of marijuana. Investigators also took $478,599 cash, two AK-47s, 3 handguns, 2 semi-trucks, and three other vehicles. Some of the evidence is still being held in other jurisdictions.
GALLERY: Some of the evidence seized during "Operation Eastbound and Down"
Multiple agencies were a part of the investigation, including JSO, the FBI, FHP, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Northeast Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office in Texas, and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia.
The investigation is still ongoing, so Williams says it’s possible there could be more charges coming and more individuals tied to these organizations.
Community Impact
JSO has long said that a main precursor to violent crime is drug activity, so Williams says dismantling these two organizations is a big step forward in their fight to make the community safer.
“That’s a lot of money, that’s a lot of cocaine, that’s a lot of violence on the street generated by that,” he says.
He calls the take down “significant” for the community, and wanted to be clear that it really affects all parts of town. While he says a lot of the drug sales happen in Northwest Jacksonville, the repercussions are not isolated there.
“People come from all over the City to that Northwest part of the City to buy this cocaine, so this is a Jacksonville issue, not a Northwest Jacksonville issue,” he says.
And he vowed to continue the fight.
“We are committed to making Jacksonville the hardest city in America to deal drugs in,” Williams says.
He says seeing these large organizations is not a unique thing to Jacksonville, but like other cities across the nation we need to continue working to dig in to stop it.
