Cops: 10 drug dealers jailed in Boynton sting
In a yearlong investigation, Boynton Beach police set out to quash drug dealers fueling a rash of opiate overdoses, culminating in 10 arrests Tuesday.
Six other men were previously arrested and charged in the same sting.
The arrests were made countywide.
More arrests are expected, said Stephanie Slater, a spokeswoman for the Boynton Beach Police Department.
The city has seen an
alarming number of drug overdoses in the past two years.
Since January, there have been 542 overdoses; 56 were fatal, Slater said.
In 2016, there were 433 overdoses; 35 were fatal, she said.
“Lives were saved today,” Police Chief Jeffrey Katz said in a prepared statement.
“Addiction is public
health crisis … Today, we and our law enforcement partners reinforced our resolve to address the supply side of this issue.
“I encourage other community stakeholders to continue addressing the demand component.”
Seized in Tuesday’s sweep were dozens of bags of heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine and marijuana, Slater said.
The sting, dubbed Operation Cherry Pill, led to these 10 arrests on Tuesday:
Derriel Wallace, 22; Shadrick Lee, 53; Jaden Miraj, 18; Terrence Wilkins, 26; Corey Floyd, 39; Billy Rollerson, 27; Keyon Mack, no age available; Cedric Petty, 37; Melvin Hall, 39, and Sherwick Jonas 38.
When six other men were arrested in September, October and November, authorities seized $21,813 cash and 729 grams of heroin, cocaine and Percocet, Slater said.
Arrested in September were: Kunta Riddick and Kelcey Riddick, both 40. Arnold Sims, 56, was arrested in October.
Arrested on federal charges in November were Lorenzo Edmonds, 32; Bryan Preston Todd, 31, and Taje Bannister, 24.
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Just before Gerald Petion was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on Tuesday, a judge asked him if he wanted to say anything.
Petion finished the case the way he spent most of it — in silence. His attorney said Petion shook his head and said nothing.
Petion, who is also known as “Gangsta,” had remained stubbornly but politely silent and unresponsive in court for the first year after he was arrested on federal charges in May 2016. He was never physically disruptive but avoided eye contact and ignored questions from judges, lawyers and court officials during approximately 10 court hearings in West Palm Beach.
He eventually resumed speaking earlier this year and pleaded guilty to charges that he sold heroin linked to a man’s near-fatal overdose last year in Delray Beach.
Petion, 33, who lived in Pompano Beach and Delray Beach, pleaded guilty to drug-trafficking and firearm offenses. He faced a maximum of life in federal prison.
Though some speculated that his silence was just a ploy that he thought might lead to the case being dismissed, Petion succeeded only in slowing down the legal process and increasing the cost of prosecuting him.
He remained jailed the whole time but was sent back and forth across the country, twice, to undergo mental health and competency evaluations in Seattle and Los Angeles.
The justice system requires that judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys ensure that a person understands the charges against them and can assist in their own defense.
Medical experts, who observed Petion closely for weeks on end, eventually concluded that he was faking mental illness.
Petion admitted he sold heroin that caused a man to die — briefly — on March 14, 2016, in Delray Beach. Prosecutors said emergency workers resuscitated the victim, using a narcoticblocking drug, and he survived. The victim’s identity was not made public.
Petion was supposed to have been sentenced in August but he decided during that sentencing hearing that he wanted to withdraw his guilty plea and go to trial. His former attorney, Assistant Federal Public Defender Peter Birch, had to withdraw from the case and a new attorney, Gregg Lerman was appointed to represent Petion.
Two judges later rejected Petion’s request and he was eventually sentenced on Tuesday. His new attorney, Lerman, declined to comment on the case.