More than 50 drug traffickers have been arrested in Operation Agua Azul.
Approximately 20 months ago, a drug trafficking organization was identified and was found to be distributing large quantities of illegal drugs throughout the tri-state area.
The investigation into this organization became known as “Operation Agua Azul.”
Throughout the course of this long-term investigation, many individuals were found to be distributing narcotics including methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl.
These narcotics were being sold to citizens who suffer from addiction right here in our community.
Investigations of this magnitude take time, effort and expertise.
Since the beginning of this investigation, more than 50 subjects have been arrested and we have seized 41 kilograms of methamphetamine, 6.6 kilograms of cocaine, 2.1 kilograms of crack cocaine, more than half a kilogram of heroin and oxycodone, multiple grams of MDMA and LSD, several pounds of marijuana and approximately 2.5 kilograms of fentanyl, which has a potential to kill 1.3 million people, or 6% of the population of Florida.
This investigation spanned over 20 months and required thousands of hours, making this the largest drug operation in the history of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Edenfield would like to thank everyone who had a hand in bringing these traffickers to justice, including U.S. Attorney Jason Coody, DEA Resident Agent in Charge Pedro Guzman, the Florida Highway Patrol, the United States Marshal Service, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Panama City DEA, Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office, Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Leon County Sheriff’s Office, Bay County Sheriff’s Office, Houston County Sheriff’s Office, the North Star Multijurisdictional Drug Task Force, Sneads Police Department and Chattahoochee Police Department.
“This is not the end, it’s just the beginning,” Sheriff Edenfield said. “We will continue to work together to take drug traffickers off the streets and fight for the safety of our citizens.”
UPDATE – Here is a list of some of the individuals arrested in this case as released by the United States Attorney’s Office:
Federal defendants arrested on June 21, 2023 were:
• Joshua Leo Carr, 40, of Marianna, Florida
• Michael Christopher “City Boy” Garner, 38, of Chattahoochee, Florida
• Joncy Torrianne Hall, 31, of Marianna, Florida
• Robert Blake Howell, 45, of Marianna, Florida
• Helen Christine Jones, a/k/a Christine Howell, 41, of Marianna, Florida
• Amos E. “Pops” Rogers, 58, of Chipley, Florida
• Matthew Ottovio Aliffi, 45, of Marianna, Florida
Already in custody elsewhere and scheduled for federal arraignment are:
• Ashley Marie Albert, 29, of Mariana, Florida
• Royce Allen “R.J.” Alday, 30, of Marianna, Florida
• Ryan Wade “Bobo” Massey, 32, of Chipley, Florida
• Holly Gay Newton a/k/a Holly Nichols, 43, of Altha, Florida
• Dewayne Deshun “Max” Thornton, 23, of Dothan, Alabama
Previous federal arrests from this same investigation include:
• Brian Beauchamp, 37, of Grand Ridge, Florida
• Anthony Lamar “Kool Aid” Brown, 46, of Quincy, Florida
• Eric Shane Daniels, 27, of Blountstown, Florida
• Daniel B. Foster, 40, of Blountstown, Florida
• Cornelius Montez Garner, 33, of Chattahoochee, Florida
• Gary Lamar “G” Murphy III, 37, of Tallahassee, Florida
• Savannah Price, 23, of Marianna, Florida
• Jessica Nicole Pynes, 35, of Bristol, Florida
• Shelby Roney, 49, of Malone, Florida
• Curtis Vickers, 38, of Dothan, Alabama
• Latoya Latasha White, 34, of Lake Wales, Florida
The defendants charged federally face penalties of up to life imprisonment and fines of up to $20,000,000.
State defendants’ arrested:
• Tara Baxley
• Cheryl Bernhard
• Destiny Bryan
• Paul Childress
• Jeffrey Davis
• Arthur Goodwin
• Dawn Herndon
• Richard Outlaw
• Darryl Owens
• Abdullah Muhammad
• Nikolaus Rabon
• Forrest Reed, Jr.
• James Shelmon
• Ashley Smith
• Giselle Sukanec
• Keith Edward Summerlin
• Paul Wright
