PEEPLES JR., HOUSEMATE PLEAD NOT GUILTY

A well-known local Democrat and the woman he lived with pleaded not guilty
Monday to drug charges stemming from a Dec. 30 SWAT raid on their home.

Vernon Peeples Jr., 45, and Elizabeth Picerno, 40, both of 110 Gilchrist
St., Punta Gorda, face charges of possession of a controlled substance,
possession of drug paraphernalia and possession with intent to sell or deliver.

Both will be back in court for an April 25 docket sounding.

On Dec. 30, around 7:30 p.m., SWAT raided the couple's Punta Gorda home.
With the help of a K-9, deputies found a bag of marijuana in a closet and
two suitcases filled with nine 1-pound bags of marijuana in the master
bedroom. The total weight of marijuana found equaled nearly 11 pounds and
had an approximate street value of $44,000, according to reports.

A small metal plate with a white powder substance, suspected to be cocaine,
was also found in the master bedroom, the arrest report stated.

Deputies also seized various pills, $3,000 cash and a vehicle.

Peeples owns Peeples Agency in Punta Gorda and formerly served as the
chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee of Charlotte County.
Peeples' father, Vernon Peeples Sr., served in the Florida House of
Representatives. Picerno owns Elegant Lee's Bridal Wear in Punta Gorda.

According to Maj. Butch Arenal of the Punta Gorda Police Department, the
arrests resulted from an "ongoing undercover narcotics operation targeting
the location for the past several weeks."

Neither of the defendants have a previous criminal record, and both posted
$8,500 bonds.