October 13, 2021
In a less than 21 days deputies with the Sheriff’s Office
assigned to the Inglis area of our county have made six arrests and seized all
types of drugs including the deadly drug fentanyl. Within the past four months
deputies have responded to three overdose reports which required our deputies
to administer two doses of Narcan in each case to save the overdosed person.
These statistics do not include the same type of potential overdose calls that
the Department of Public Safety (EMS) have responded to. In response to these
increased calls for service, Sheriff McCallum has increased drug enforcement in
this community.
On September 21, 2021 Deputy Nelson Macias conducted a
traffic stop on a vehicle being driven by Samuel Whitney (5/28/64) of
Washington State. Deputy Macias seized methamphetamines, marijuana and drug
equipment from the vehicle and arrested Whitney. Whitney is being held in the
Levy County Detention Facility in lieu of a $32,000 bond.
On October 6, 2021 Deputy Nelson Macias made contact with
two individuals pushing a shopping cart from Dollar General on the sidewalk away
from the business. The cart was filled with personal items. During this contact
Deputy Macias seized methamphetamines from April Bowers (11/26/78) of Inglis.
Bowers was arrested and is being held in the Levy County Detention Bureau in
lieu of a $30,000 bond.
On October 8, 2021 Deputy Dean MacIntyre stopped Curtis
Carter (6/16/82) of Inglis operating a bicycle in an unsafe manner. As a result
of this stop Deputy MacIntyre seized methamphetamines, Xanax, Alprazolam and
marijuana. Carter was arrested and is being held in the Levy County Detention
Bureau in lieu of an $86,000 bond.
On October 12, 2021 Deputy Dean MacIntyre conducted a
traffic stop on a vehicle being driven by Taylor O’Connor (4/19/90) of Inglis.
During the traffic stop investigation K-9 Deputy Alton Horne walked his partner
Behr around the vehicle and Behr detected the odor of illegal narcotics. A search
of the vehicle discovered heroin laced marijuana and drug equipment with
methamphetamine residue. Deputy MacIntyre noticed O’Connor acting strangely and
saw her fidgeting with her bra. Deputy MacIntyre asked her to remove the item
she was hiding and she surrendered a baggie of methamphetamines. O’Connor was
arrested and is being held in the Levy County Detention Facility and her bond has
not been set.
On October 13, 2021 Deputy Cody Weaver watched as Joshua
Mortez (5/19/90) of Inglis, whom he knew had a suspended driver’s license enter
a vehicle parked at the Circle K gas pump in Inglis and drive away. Deputy
Weaver attempted to stop the vehicle that abruptly turned into the Palm Point
subdivision. Deputy Weaver ultimately was able to stop the vehicle to discover
the driver, Mortez had switched places with passenger Sydney Allen (5/21/98) of
Inglis. Both Mortez and Allen were detained.
The following traffic stop investigation which was assisted
by K-9 Deputy Alton Horne and his partner Behr, resulted in the following drugs
being seized: cocaine, fentanyl, marijuana, marijuana wax and heroin.
Deputies experience all types of peril in their daily
duties. Fentanyl is an extremely dangerous drug and unfortunately Deputy Horne
experienced a severe exposure during this investigation. Deputy Horne was
exposed while taking these subjects into custody. This exposure required him to
be hospitalized at a local emergency center where he is being held in stable
condition. Deputies believe the suspects attempted to throw these drugs out of the
window of the moving vehicle causing it to blow inside the interior, covering
most surfaces including the suspects.
“We are praying for Deputy
Horne and his speedy recovery. Drugs are a constant danger our deputies face daily
across the nation as they protect the innocent citizens in their communities.
In this case these suspects are not first time offenders and must be held
accountable by the criminal justice system as they are a deadly threat to our community,”
said Sheriff McCallum.
