DRUG STING NEAR DELAND NETS 12 ARRESTS

Undercover drug operations netted 12 people trying to sell or buy illegal drugs Friday evening near DeLand. Spearheaded by the West Volusia Narcotics Task Force, the operation focused on areas known for drug activity based on neighborhood complaints.

Narcotics agents ran two operations consecutively. One operation was a reverse sting during which undercover agents posed as street-corner drug dealers and were approached by people wanting to buy drugs. However, the buyers didn’t know that the agents were actually offering artificial substances made to resemble crack cocaine. After negotiating each drug deal, agents sent the signal for the takedown team to move in for the arrest. The other operation was a buy-bust sting during which undercover narcotics agents negotiated drug buys from street dealers at various locations around the city, and once each deal was completed, agents signaled the takedown team to move in.

The Task Force is a multi-agency force of narcotics agents from the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, DeLand Police Department and Orange City Police Department that shares resources and crosses jurisdictional boundaries to combat street-level drug and vice crimes. The Daytona Beach Police Department also assisted in this operation.

The names of the defendants and their charges are as follows:

Marquis Moore, 15, 1055 E. Euclid Ave., DeLand. Sale/delivery of crack cocaine.
Dwayne Neal, 46, 759 W. Ohio Ave., Lake Helen. Sale/delivery of a controlled substance within 1000 feet of a church, and possession of controlled substance with intent to distribute.
Lambert Johnson, 50, 701 S. Stone Street, DeLand. Attempted purchase of crack cocaine.
Timothy Cronenbold, 48, 820 W. Ohio Ave., DeLand. Attempted purchase of cocaine.
Teresa Payette, 44, 820 W. Ohio Ave., DeLand. Attempted purchase of a controlled substance.
Jonathan Morales, 42, 114 Villa Villar Court, DeLand. Attempted purchase of a controlled substance.
Greenville Walton, 54, 101 E. New Hampshire, DeLand. Attempted purchase of a controlled substance.
Elizabeth Rolle, 51, 430 W. Walts Ave., DeLand. Attempted purchase of a controlled substance.
Burnette Moore, 52, 503 W. Winnamisette Ave., DeLand. Attempted purchase of a controlled substance.
Elia Serrano, 39, 1117 E. Hubbard Ave., DeLand. Attempted purchase of crack cocaine.
Lori Vandehey, 37, 2037 Old New York Ave., DeLand. Attempted purchase of a controlled substance.
Mark Petscher, 37, 121 Dover Lane, DeLand. Attempted purchase of a controlled substance.