Dozens of arrests made, guns confiscated in Volusia County

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – The focus of Operation Cease Fire was not only to catch, but convict dangerous criminals selling drugs and high-powered guns on the streets of Volusia County.

Agents recovered 58 guns during the 14-month long investigation.

"You have sniper rifles there, you have a sawed off shotgun there, you have handguns there," said Chief Mike Chitwood. "We were able to go out and target a group of individuals that are career criminals, who were out there selling dope and, obviously, selling firearms out on the street."

The operation involved the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Daytona Beach Police Department and the State Attorney's Office.

"We brought in our special response teams, which are our specialized group of SWAT individuals. We also utilized Daytona Beach SWAT unit," said Trevor Velinor, ATF agent.

Investigators said during the investigation, authorities picked up 29 people on federal and state arrests, however, two people are still at large 33-year-old Tiffany Malcolm and 27-year-old Robert Smith. Smith is a person of interest in the 2015 Mother's Day murder of Deandre Smith.

"We all have the same mission, and that is to make our streets safer," said R.J. Larizza, State Attorney.

Larizza said their next step is to now prosecute the violent offenders to the fullest.

"We've got first degree felonies, we've got second degree felonies. We've got cases with potential enhancements that can get all the way up to a life sentence. So, we'll be looking at them, getting them through the system to make sure the appropriate resolution is made," said Larizza.


About the Author:

Loren Korn is a native Texan who joined the News 6 team as a reporter in May 2014. She was born and raised in Houston and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Journalism.