Fort Myers Man Wanted for Selling Drugs Near a Church
In November 2024, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office conducted an investigation known as Operation Paradise City, in which they arrested more than 50 people on suspicion of buying or selling cocaine. One of the defendants that they could not find was Kalvin Jones, who was already known to law enforcement in Lee and Charlotte Counties. He had previously served two prison sentences and has a history of arrests related to cocaine, heroin, and cannabis, as well as at least one incident of domestic violence against a pregnant woman. When the Sheriff’s office requested a warrant for Jones’s arrest last November, it was for four counts of selling drugs near a church; since November, no additional news reports are available about developments in his case. Is selling drugs near a church that much worse than selling drugs anywhere else? If the state is accusing you of selling drugs in the wrong place at the wrong time, contact a Florida drug offenses attorney.
The Worst Places to Sell Illegal Drugs
There is a reason that they call them controlled substances. This term refers to drugs that it is illegal to possess, consume, or distribute outside a medical setting, one controlled by the law and by the regulations of the medical profession. Schedule I controlled substances, such as heroin and MDMA, are not legal anywhere in the United States; doctors cannot even administer them to patients in a hospital. Therefore, if you sell oxycodone, and you are not a pharmacist, the person buying it is not a patient with a valid prescription, and the transaction is not taking place in a pharmacy, you are breaking the law.
Despite this, Florida law plays a game of Green Eggs and Ham with the location of drug transactions. It’s illegal to sell them in a house, but it is worse to sell them with a mouse, namely a church mouse. Florida has designated certain places as drug-free zones, and if you buy or sell drugs in or near these drug-free zones, enhanced penalties apply if you get convicted. The following are examples of drug-free zones:
- Schools, including elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools
- Child daycare centers and preschools
- Universities and community colleges
- Public housing facilities
- Houses of worship, such as churches, mosques, temples, and synagogues
- Public parks and publicly owned community centers and recreational facilities
- Grocery stores that stay open 24 hours a day, including convenience stores
Most people would not be foolhardy enough to sell drugs inside a church. The worst thing about drug-free zones is that drug-free zone penalties apply if the drug crime happens within 1,000 feet of the school, church, or other drug-free place. Depending on where you live, it could mean that everywhere you go in a typical day is a drug-free zone.
Contact FL Drug Defense Group About Drug Cases
A Central Florida criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges for selling illegal drugs in a drug-free zone. Contact FL Drug Defense Group in Orlando, Florida to discuss your case.
Source:
gulfcoastnewsnow.com/article/fort-myers-felon-selling-drugs-near-church/63051926
