POLICE: TIP-OFFS FOIL COUNTY STING ON DRUG DEALERS

ARCHER - Tip-offs may have foiled an Alachua County Sheriff's Office
sting operation Sunday evening meant to end in the arrest of at least
29 people on drug-related charges.

By 10 p.m., the sheriff's office had arrested only one of the
suspects, but seven other arrests were made.

"We expected more," said spokesman Lt. Jim Troiano, speculating some
suspects may have been tipped off. "We do know the phones light up
when we come into town. The fact nobody was out was a sign that
perhaps they did get a message."

In addition, he said, many suspects are transient, so police can only
guess which homes they will be in when officers attempt to serve a
warrant.

Sunday night's warrants were for low-level, or street-level, cocaine
dealers in Gainesville, Archer and Newberry, Troiano said.

The court documents were obtained after undercover operatives and
cooperating informants purchased drugs up to five times from each
individual, according to police. They make many purchases to build a
solid case before requesting a warrant from a judge, Troiano said.

While some identities were uncovered through informants, police were
tipped off about the majority of the dealers by community members who
saw suspicious activity.

On Sunday night, about two dozen police set out in unmarked vehicles,
attempting to serve the warrants in homes and in known public meeting
places.

While few of the desired individuals were found, police did make
arrests when people "trespassing" on public property were questioned.

On Archer's Magnolia Street, police found a group of cars congregated
at a city-owned building marked "no trespassing."

Deputy C.W. Phillips said the odor of marijuana emanated from one
vehicle, and a search later uncovered a bag of what appeared to be
61.8 grams of the drug, which is worth about $620. Police arrested
Mandingo Boykim, who was sitting in the passenger seat under which it
was found.

While Deputy Josh Crews read him his rights, Boykim's parents stood
watching nearby. Troiano said the son had just gotten out of jail on
previous marijuana charges.

Watching Phillips guide another arrestee into a police van, Troiano
said, "We were reminiscing that we arrested people 20 years ago for
the same thing in the same place, but it was just different people."

Overhearing Troiano, Phillips added, "When I came here in '83, I was
chasing them up and down Magnolia all night long."

While police questioned several men they had found along Magnolia
Street, neighbors began congregating to watch. Children rode up on
their bicycles. One resident walked down the street in her slippers.
Others stood watching from their yards.

Though most were silent observers, Troiano said many community members
in Archer, Newberry and other towns have complained about drug activity.

"Our message to them is, 'We hear you loud and clear,'" he said. The
lieutenant said drug activity has significantly decreased over the
years, but acknowledged, "There's still a lot of problems."

Police are criticized for making fewer drug-related arrests in more
up-scale areas, he said, but - since drug activity is less often on
the streets and more often hidden indoors - it's harder to spot.

"These are the ones we're hearing the most about," he said while en
route to a suspect's Newberry residence.

Many of the cases police build are within 1,000 feet of churches and
schools, he noted, which increases the penalties suspects face.

ACSO's Narcotics Commander John Redmond said the current cases are the
result of three to four months of police work, and there's plenty more
to come.

"Literally every day, I get two or three phone calls," he said, though
many tipsters won't give their names because they're either neighbors
or family members of the drug dealers they're reporting.

He said the latest drug activity has "pretty much been wide open on
the street," but added the new string of arrests will quell some drug
activity, and what remains will be hidden within residences until
dealers think police aren't watching anymore.

Sheriffs conduct the stings every few months, but their undercover
work carries on continuously.

Police hope arrests will curb drug activity hose arrested in the
Alachua County Sheriff's Office's sting Sunday night included:

[snip]

Of these eight men, all arrested before 10 p.m. Sunday, only one,
Tramutula, was among 29 people police set out to arrest based on
warrants they had obtained.