A Fountain man was found guilty Thursday of Trafficking in Methamphetamine after an investigation and an “alert” from a drug-detecting K-9 led to the discovery of 58 grams of the drug he dumped in the vehicle, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
Armando Cavazos, 44, is being held without bond pending his sentencing, which Circuit Court Judge Dustin Stephenson set for Oct. 6. Trafficking in Methamphetamine (more than 28 grams but less than 200 grams) is a First-Degree Felony punishable by a minimum-mandatory 7 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 30 years.
“These dealers keep bringing these deadly drugs into our community, and we will continue to take them to trial as our law enforcement partners continue to put them in jail,” Prosecutor Christopher Walters said. “The Bay County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Division and Sgt. Jeremy Head did another good job of getting to this defendant before he got his drugs onto our streets.”
Walters and Prosecutor Ben Bollinger called 5 witnesses – including two co-defendants who were in the vehicle when it was stopped – proving the methamphetamine found in the truck belonged to the defendant.
According to testimony, a co-defendant said he was going to install a radio in the defendant’s vehicle in exchange for some meth. While at the defendant’s property, he had to run home for some electrical tape and gave the defendant and another man a ride so they could stop at a nearby store.
They were under surveillance by members of the Bay County Sheriff’s Office SID. When the driver failed to stop at a stop sign, they were pulled over. Inv. Dwight Cummings deployed his K-9 for a “free-air” sniff around the car and it alerted to the presence of drugs.
Investigators testified a baggie containing a white substance was visible on the back floorboard. When the car was searched investigators found the baggie contained 58 grams of what turned out to be methamphetamine.
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The driver of the vehicle testified that when deputies turned on their emergency lights to pull them over, he watched Cavazos, in the passenger’s seat, pull out a baggie filled with white powder and stuff it behind him onto the back floorboard.
The defendant was also found guilty of Tampering with a Witness. After his arrest, a recorded jail call showed he was trying to conspire with one of the co-defendants to blame the driver.
Basford thanked the Sheriff’s Office and SID for another investigation targeting a major dealer that concluded before the drugs could be sold on the street.
For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.