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Times Staff WriterThirteen people are arrested and more than 50 traffic citations are issued during a daylong operation.
BROOKSVILLE - A task force formed to fight street-level drug trafficking and other crime in south Brooksville arrested 13 people and issued more than 50 traffic citations during a daylong operation last week.
Thirteen suspects, including Aaron Smith Jr., 47, who was later charged with murder, and Joseph H. Simpson Jr., 32, who was listed as one of Hernando County's 10 most wanted, were arrested Friday.
Smith had been sought for questioning in connection with the smothering death of his 79-year-old mother, Martha S. Smith. Authorities found Smith at the Budget Inn on E Jefferson Street and later charged him with first-degree murder.
Simpson was wanted on several outstanding warrants dating to 2003 for violating his probation, violating a domestic violence injunction and failing to appear in court on grand theft and grand theft auto charges, records show.
Authorities also issued more than 50 traffic citations with the assistance of the Florida Highway Patrol, a news release said.
Made up of 25 law enforcement officers from the Hernando County Sheriff's Office, Brooksville Police Department, Florida Department of Parole and Probation, and the Florida Department of Transportation, the group was responding to an increase in robberies and auto thefts in south Brooksville.