Seven people are arrested and some are accused of being part of a large cocaine smuggling operation.
By DUANE BOURNE
Published October 26, 2004
BROOKSVILLE - A suspected drug dealer known to authorities as "Tampa Red" was being held at the Hernando County Jail on $105,500 bail on Monday after he was accused of smuggling more than 4 pounds of cocaine weekly into Hernando County.
Ernest Norman, 36, was one of seven people arrested in connection with a narcotics investigation involving the trafficking of cocaine from Texas using drug "mules."
Investigators confiscated $210,140 worth of crack cocaine and powdered cocaine during the sweep by the Hernando County Sheriff's Office and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.
Norman was taken into custody at his home in Hill 'n Dale on Friday.
He is accused of trafficking in crack cocaine and powdered cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia and violating a domestic violence injunction from Suzette Black, 47, with whom he was living, an arrest report stated. Black was arrested at the same house.
She was charged with trafficking in crack cocaine and powder cocaine. She was released Monday on $100,000 bail.
Norman has been arrested 20 times, dating to 1987, when he was charged with selling cocaine in Tampa, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Norman has been imprisoned three times for a number of offenses, including homicide, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. Sheriff Richard Nugent said the investigation developed within the past 90 days.
"He has been on our radar screen for several years," Nugent said on Monday.
Friday's arrests dealt another blow to the drug trade in Hernando County. Less than two weeks ago, the Sheriff's Office arrested Edwin C. Ubele, son of Assistant Public Defender Diane Ubele.
Edwin C. Ubele, a 27-year-old Hernando Beach resident, is believed to be responsible for dealing 1 kilo, or 2.2 pounds, of cocaine per week in the county, sheriff's officials said.
"You could go months at a time without having a major case. It just takes time to develop these cases," said Nugent.
He said the recent arrests of alleged drug dealers were not politically motivated. "We don't leave any stone unturned as the opportunities present themselves.
"We are working cases like these all the time.."
Nugent said Norman is responsible for about 20 percent to 30 percent of the cocaine trade in Hernando County.
Members of the sheriff's vice and narcotics unit and agents from the DEA searched Norman's house at 27343 Flagler Ave. about 2 p.m. Friday.
During the search, authorities discovered crack and powder cocaine individually wrapped in plastic sandwich bags. Officials said they believed the packages were being prepared for distribution and were found in a sneaker box and plastic container in the closet of the master bedroom, the arrest report stated.
The Sheriff's Office said the 1.1 pounds of cocaine have a street value of $46,000.
In the kitchen, authorities also seized two scales, a baking dish and drug paraphernalia, the report said.
In addition to Norman and Black, two other people were arrested Friday.
Marquis "Pooh Bear" Taylor, 19, who lives at that address, was charged with possession of crack cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Authorities said they arrested a fourth suspect, Bernard S. Blakely, 42, of 1060 Piercewood Point in Brooksville. When they searched Blakely, deputies found crack cocaine inside a cigarette box, they said.
Blakely was charged with possession of crack cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia, both felonies.
Nugent said Blakely and Taylor might not have been directly involved in the drug smuggling operation, but Nugent described them as drug users. On Monday, they remained at the Hernando County Jail on $20,500 bail.
Investigators also learned that arrangements were made with out-of-state residents or "mules," those who transport drugs, to deliver about 5 pounds of cocaine to Norman's home.
At 1:06 a.m. Saturday, a patrol deputy acting on a tip stopped a white Dodge sedan at State Road 50 and Emmanuel Way.
A police dog unit examined the sedan, which had Texas license plates, and found five packages of cocaine weighing less than 5 pounds in a vent in the car's dashboard, the report said.
The car's driver, Samual Martinez Hernandez, 18, and passenger Vilma Gutierrez Lopez, 47, both of Houston, were charged with trafficking in cocaine. Both are being held on $50,000 bail.
Sheriff's deputies later arrested William Gonzales, 46, of North Miami, the man suspected of coordinating Saturday morning's delivery to the Hill n' Dale residence.
Gonzales drove to Hernando County from the Miami area to collect the money owed for the transaction, officials said.
Nugent described him as a "coordinator" because Nugent said Norman did not have the connections to obtain narcotics directly from Texas.
Gonzales was charged as a principal to trafficking in cocaine in addition to driving violations. He was being held on $51,000 bail.
