January 30, 2008
Gary Davidson
Public Information Officer

DRUG AGENTS ARREST DELAND MAN FOR SELLING, MAKING CRACK 

A 36-year-old DeLand man is facing a slew of drug charges after narcotics agents raided his home Wednesday morning and seized crack cocaine along with property commonly used to cook and sell the drug. 

Armed with a search warrant, the DeLand Police Department in conjunction with agents from the West Volusia Narcotics Task Force raided Darren Hill’s residence at 713 Laisy Drive at about 6 a.m. The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office’s SWAT Team also assisted in securing the home so narcotics agents could begin their search. When the agents got into the home, they found more than illegal drugs. They seized two digital scales and a glass bowl with cocaine residue and also discovered cocaine residue on the stove -- tell-tale signs that crack was not only being sold but also was being manufactured at the home. In all, agents seized approximately 107 grams of crack cocaine, 13 grams of powder cocaine, 16 grams of marijuana and one Ecstasy pill. Agents also recovered a pressure washer that had been reported stolen by the Volusia County School District. 

Hill was charged with trafficking in cocaine, manufacture of crack cocaine, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of Ecstasy. Hill was additionally arrested on an open warrant charging him sale and delivery of a controlled substance and was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach without bond. The West Volusia Narcotics Task Force is a multi-agency force of narcotics agents from the Sheriff’s Office and DeLand Police Department that shares resources and crosses jurisdictional boundaries to combat street-level drug and vice crimes.