More than a dozen people arrested on felony drug charges when police raid a Jacksonville nightclub

After months of investigation, police raided a Jacksonville nightclub and made sweeping arrests on drug charges.  Sixteen people were arrested during the raid and 20 more people had warrants out for their arrest as a result of the investigation, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. Of those 36, four worked at the club, the newspaper reported, and police officials declined to say if club ownership was involved in the drug activity. Police began investigating after learning of drug activity in the club, and then made more than 100 drug transactions at the club of the course of the undercover investigation.  So when the arrests were made at the club, it wasn’t just police finding some marijuana in people’s pockets at the club. People were arrested, for example, on five counts of selling methamphetamines or four counts of selling methamphetamines and one count of possession of marijuana. Selling methamphetamines is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in state prison. So the person facing five counts is looking at a maximum sentence of 75 years in prison.
Most of the arrests in this Jacksonville Drug Crimes Case were related to club drugs that come up in the Florida Statutes as methamphetamines. In Jacksonville Drug Crimes Cases, the severity of the charge, and thus the potential punishment, is based on the type of drug a person is accused of having or selling, along with how much of the drug is in his or her possession. With methamphetamines and most other drugs, there are no misdemeanor charges – only felonies that have maximum sentences involving some time in state prison. For example, the marijuana possession charge mentioned earlier is a misdemeanor and, generally speaking, marijuana charges are far less severe than with harder drugs such as cocaine, heroin or methamphetamines.
The prosecution of these Jacksonville Drug Crime Cases will be interesting, because it appears that police already have some form of evidence on drug sales, based on the more than 100 they’ve been a part of, according to the newspaper. Police generally document these transactions so they are available in court, so there is likely a video or audio recording police can show in court. Also, with this many people involved, expect the wheeling and dealing to already be underway – especially with the four employees who are charged. There’s generally a “big fish” police are after in a case like this, which in all likelihood is one of the people who owns the club. Police and prosecutors will often offer a reduced sentence for people willing to testify to the source of the drugs, or provide information that leads to the arrest and conviction police are really after.
If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a FREE CONSULTATION. Our Jacksonville Drug Crimes Attorney, Victoria “Tori” Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.