46 NABBED IN CLAY DRUG RAID

10 Linked To Funneling $2 Million In Cocaine

About 50 law enforcement officers in Clay County descended upon the streets
in Green Cove Springs, Middleburg and Orange Park in the early morning
hours yesterday scouring neighborhoods for drug dealers they've been
following for a year.

By the time the raid was done, police had arrested 46 people, including 10
believed to be responsible for helping distribute about $2 million in
cocaine throughout Northeast Florida and the state, according to Clay
County Sheriff Scott Lancaster. The 10 were charged with six-count federal
indictments that could land them in jail for the rest of their lives.

Officials say many of those arrested were involved in a loosely organized
narcotics organization that developed in the 1980s, which reaches into
Miami, Orlando and Tampa. Though most operated in Clay County, some were
based in Duval and Bradford near the Clay County line.

Police had warrants for 57 people. Officials say the bust, Operation Triple
Threat, will clean up the streets.

"It will have a tremendous impact," said Green Cove Springs Police Chief
Gail Russell, whose town saw the majority of arrests. "I thank God for the
cooperation I had."

Middleburg Avenue has been notorious for drug activity since the late
1980s, though local law enforcement periodically conducts raids.
Cooperation from the federal government allowed for a more intricate
operation that would have strained the tiny agency.

Despite the extent of arrests, Russell realizes the drug problem is not
close to an end.

"We'll go right back to other investigations," he said. "There will be some
others to replace these folks, but for the meantime ... "

But just a few blocks away, in the blighted areas of Green Cove where
abandoned cars rust and houses crumble, residents had mixed emotions about
the raid.

"I think a lot of people welcome it," said Antonio Coleman, who works for
the Police Athletic League, coaching neighborhood children in basketball
and other sports. "It's long overdue."

But Lakeisha Williams, who lives on Center Street, an area officers raided,
resents the police presence, saying the busts unfairly target black areas.

"They swear everybody's dealing drugs," said Williams, whose cousin was
arrested.

Lancaster said many residents welcomed the drug bust.

"They were clapping and cheering and applauding what was going on," he said.

The 10 facing federal charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and crack
are: Willie Lee Davis, 40; Kelvin Williams, 26; Roy Shane Jackson, 29, and
Shawn Jackson, 33, all of Starke; Herbert Little, 39; Johnnell Johnson, 43;
Ben Littles, 25; Willie Boykin, 31, and Andrew Littles, 28, all of
Middleburg; and Lee Van Walton, 24, Orange Park.

Among the others arrested was Robert Pollard, a former football standout at
Orange Park High School who is now playing professionally in Canada.