January 31, 2008
Gary Davidson
Public Information Officer

MAN NABBED TRYING TO BUY COCAINE FROM UNDERCOVER OFFICER 

Toting nearly $6,000 in cash and a loaded handgun, convicted felon Michael J. Washington drove all the way from Georgia to DeLand on Thursday to buy more than a half-pound of cocaine. What he didn’t know was that his supplier was actually an undercover drug agent. The DeLand Police Department in conjunction with the West Volusia Narcotics Task Force nabbed Washington shortly before 4 p.m. Thursday as the defendant drove to a parking lot along North Woodland Boulevard and Plymouth Avenue to consummate the drug deal. The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office’s Crime Suppression Team also assisted in the take-down. 

An undercover agent with the Task Force had been talking with Washington for some time after he expressed interest in buying a large quantity of cocaine. Once Washington got into town Thursday, the agent directed him to the parking lot and into the hands of waiting officers. Washington is facing charges of attempted armed trafficking in cocaine in excess of 200 grams, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and driving with a suspended license. Washington has felony convictions both in Georgia and Florida, according to information from the Florida Department of Corrections’ web site.  

Once agents finish processing Washington and the arrest paperwork, the defendant will be transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach. 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.