IN NORTHWEST LAKE COUNTY, DRUG TASK FORCE IS NEEDED, USED

Mark Isom and Ed Nathanson, police chiefs of Fruitland Park and Lady
Lake, respectively, say the majority of violent crimes in the area
are probably drug-related.

But the crimes don't stem from gangs fighting over drug-dealing turf
or huge caches of narcotics, they say.

Police suspect that the majority of burglaries, for example, are
committed by junkies looking to hawk antiques, televisions or other
valuables for drug money.

That's why both have been involved in a new task force of sorts
specifically targeting drug crime in northwest Lake County. Police in
Lady Lake, Fruitland Park and Leesburg, and Lake County sheriff's
deputies, have teamed up at least twice in the past two months on
drug busts aimed at curbing what police say is a growing crime
element in the area: suspects moving, using or selling drugs in the county.

"The trend is phenomenal," Isom said. "We've probably seen more drugs
here in the last year than we've seen in the last five put together."

Reports of "part one" crimes -- incidents such as robbery, burglary,
assault, motor vehicle theft, larceny, murder and forcible rape --
increased in Lady Lake from 294 in 2005 to 364 in 2006, a 23.8
percent increase, according to recently released Florida Department
of Law Enforcement statistics.

The majority of reports -- 217 out of 364, or about 60 percent --
were for larceny or property theft, which includes such incidents as
someone walking off with a window unit air conditioner or a person
swiping change from an open car. The next largest was burglary at 81,
motor vehicle theft at 34, aggravated assault at 24, robbery at five
and forcible rape at three.

In Fruitland Park, those types of crimes decreased from 129 in 2005
to 110 last year. Again, the majority of reports involved larceny --
66 of the 110, or 60 percent. Next was burglary at 24, motor vehicle
theft at 11, aggravated assault at five, robbery at three and
forcible rape at one.

Neither city reported any murders.

Isom in Fruitland Park suspects 80 to 85 percent of his crimes are
drug-related in the sense of being committed to allow the
perpetrators to buy drugs. Nathanson estimated the percentage at
about 50 percent, but said it could be more.

Police can suspect that a crime is related to drugs -- for example,
the theft of a television could indicate an addict looking for
something he or she could trade for narcotics -- but that can
sometimes be hard to prove if the suspect does not have a chance to
use the stolen item in a drug transaction, Nathanson said.

The drug suspicions aren't exclusive to Lake County.

In Sumter County, investigators would not comment on suspected
motives in a Monday home invasion where two occupants were injured,
said Sumter County Sheriffs Office spokesman Lt. Bobby Caruthers.

The suspect, Abraham Grady, has several previous drug arrests in
Sumter County, beginning in 2003, Caruthers said. He added that the
suspects that are either arrested on or convicted of drug-related
crime usually are connected to other types of crime that on the
surface don't appear to involve drugs.

"The large percentage of these cases are related, in some part, to
narcotics," he said.

Law enforcement has changed some of the tactics it uses to respond to
the suspected high percentage of drug-related crime. K-9 units are
called to almost every traffic stop in Lady Lake and Fruitland Park.
The departments are earmarking more officers for cooperative work.
Departments are sharing more information.

"By unifying our efforts, we can achieve much more," Nathanson said.

"Everybody knows and everybody cooperates," Isom said.

That cooperation not only saves on information gathering. Lady Lake,
Fruitland Park and Lake County all sent personnel for a drug raid in
Leesburg, saving Leesburg's department from using overtime and
running up costs. The other departments rely on Leesburg's greater
experience in narcotics operations.

Groups as diverse as shoplifters, speeding motorists on U.S. Highway
27/441, and homeowners could be part of the drug business, they said.
The four departments, including Leesburg and Lake County, in the
early July raid stopped six people and seized about two pounds of
marijuana, an ounce of cocaine and $1,000 in cash. They also
confiscated packaging material, digital scales, a police scanner and
cooking utensils.

Police say it's just symptomatic of what's to come.

"There's a whole lot more than you think," Isom said.