DEPUTIES TOPPLE PRESCRIPTION DRUG RING WITH 15 ARRESTS

DEPUTIES TOPPLE PRESCRIPTION DRUG RING WITH 15 ARRESTS

With the accused mastermind of a massive pill-pushing criminal enterprise behind bars on $1 million bond, Volusia County Sheriff’s investigators started dismantling the rest of the organization on Friday. By mid-morning, a total of 15 more suspects had been rounded up. It was all part of a large-scale investigation -- dubbed Operation Oxy-Clean -- targeting a DeBary-based network that bought pharmaceutical drugs with phony prescriptions and then sold the pills on the street for a whopping profit. On one DeBary street alone, Angeles Road, deputies nabbed nine suspects Friday morning with ties to the organization. The investigation is ongoing and more arrests are expected.

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Headed by reputed ringleader John Davey of DeBary, the organization’s drug of choice was Oxycodone. Records show that in less than three months, the group fraudulently obtained 14,000 tablets of the highly-potent narcotic from the Pierson Community Pharmacy. Members of Davey’s organization always paid in cash -- a total of $17,550 between July 8-Sept. 23. The investigation revealed that Davey would supply the phony prescriptions and the money to pay for the drugs. The drugs would then be turned over to Davey, who would pay his accomplices with pills, money or both. Witnesses said that Davey would sell the pills for $10 each. At that price, the fraudulent pills tracked to the Pierson pharmacy would have fetched $140,000. However, not all of the pills made it to the streets. Witnesses told investigators that after the pills were obtained, Davey would sometimes crush 10 of them, mix the powder with water and inject himself.

Sheriff’s investigators launched the investigation nearly two months ago, after receiving an anonymous tip that Davey was obtaining prescription drugs illegally. After secretly following Davey and two accomplices on Sept. 25 as they drove to the Pierson pharmacy to fill a phony prescription, investigators arrested the 41-year-old Davey on charges of trafficking in illegal drugs and obtaining a controlled substance by fraud. Four days later, Davey posted $30,000 bond and was released from the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach. However, as deputies continued to investigate, they discovered the massive scope of Davey’s operations. In total, investigators believe Davey had more than 30 people obtaining prescriptions for him. Based on the information, Sheriff’s investigators re-arrested Davey on Oct. 2 after obtaining a warrant charging him with operating a continuing criminal enterprise. Florida statutes define the offense as the commission of three or more felonies by someone acting in the capacity of an organizer or supervisor and in concert with five or more people. Davey is being held at the Branch Jail on $1 million bond. Investigators recovered blank prescription forms during a search of Davey’s bedroom following his Oct. 2 arrest.

This week, Sheriff’s investigators obtained arrest warrants for 20 of Davey’s accused accomplices. They began a massive round-up at 8 a.m. Friday morning, locating 15 of the defendants. Most of the defendants were arrested in DeBary, although some were also picked up in Deltona and Daytona Beach. Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson had high praise for the deputies who worked the investigation. “A lot of excellent police work went into putting this case together,” said Sheriff Johnson. “Prescription drug abuse is a growing problem with deadly consequences. Today’s arrests and the others to follow are a demonstration of the Sheriff’s Office’s commitment to attacking the problem at all levels.”

All of the defendants are being held on $150,000 bond on two charges each: obtaining or attempting to obtain a controlled substance by fraud and either trafficking in Oxycodone or trafficking in Hydrocodone. A list of the 15 defendants arrested Friday morning is as follows:

Roy V. Armstrong, 51, Daytona Beach.
Shanoh Armstrong, 32, DeBary.
Kimberly Ann Bialobos, 23, DeBary.
Carla Wood Collins, 36, DeBary.
Shannon N. Cox, 33, Deltona.
Salvatore D. Desantis III, 41, DeBary.
Ronald Deviney, 42, Deltona.
Cynthia R. Graves, 44, DeBary.
Michael A. Graves, 45, DeBary.
David Heaps, 50, DeBary.
Ronald Heaps, 45, DeBary.
Michael C. Jimenez, 26, Deltona.
Steven Larimer, 53, DeBary.
Christina Martin, 19, Deltona.
Christopher G. Piercy, 39, DeBary.

Update #1:
Another suspect in this case was taken into custody Saturday morning. Scott E. Davis, 47, DeBary, turned himself in to Sergeant Virgil Ford at the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office’s DeBary headquarters at about 10:20 a.m. on October 31, 2009. Davis was charged with trafficking in hydrocodone and obtaining or attempting to obtain a controlled substance by fraud. He was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach and is being held on $150,000 bond.

Sheriff’s investigators have now arrested a total of 17 people in connection with this case -- the ringleader, John Davey, who has been in custody since Oct. 2, the 15 defendants rounded up on Friday and Davis.

Update #2
An 18^th suspect in this case has been arrested. On November 3, 2009, 48-year-old Patty Ann Russ of Deltona turned herself in to investigators at the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office’s DeBary headquarters. Russ was charged with trafficking in illegal drugs and unlawfully obtaining a controlled substance. She was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach on $150,000 bond.

Update #3
Two more defendants were arrested today. Ted H. Edminster, Jr., 42, Orange City, was picked up today in Haywood County, North Carolina. And Robin Daughtry, 34, Deltona, turned himself in this afternoon at the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach. Both are being held on $150,000 bond on charges of trafficking in Oxycodone and obtaining or attempting to obtain a controlled substance by fraud.

The following two defendants have open warrants and are still being sought in connection to the ongoing investigation:

Daniel R. Best, 47, DeBary

James Santo, 20, DeBary

Click on http://www.volusia.org/sheriff/press/090162.htm to view previous news release.