OCALA, Fla. – Marion County drug enforcement agents arrested two men on Jan. 24 after the agents said the men were making drug sales in the parking lot of a Dollar General.
An undercover Marion County UDEST agent said he witnessed several likely drug deals in the store parking lot on Northwest 10th Street in Ocala before confronting the two men inside a Nissan Altima.
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The agent said he could smell marijuana and see clear bags containing cannabis in the car. The driver and passenger, Thomas Nashad Lyndell, 24, and Kevin Woods. Jr., 20, were placed into handcuffs while agents searched the vehicle, according to the report.
Inside the Nissan, agents found a Smith and Wesson .40 caliber pistol, a Glock .40 caliber pistol with a high-capacity drum magazine, a scale, clear bags of MDMA, methamphetamine and fentanyl, according to the arrest report. Ocala police said the gun was reported stolen in a previous case.
Drugs seized by UDEST agents during a Jan. 24 arrest in Ocala.
Woods is charged with trafficking fentanyl, MDMA and possession of several other drugs with intent to sell. Thomas is charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell. Both men are charged with possessing a firearm as convicted felons.
Both men were booked into the Marion County Jail.
The Unified Drug Enforcement Strike Team, or UDEST, is a partnership with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Ocala Police Department, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Homeland Security and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The initiative targets the north Florida high drug-trafficking area.
In 2016, UDEST agents seized nearly $1.8 million in drugs and made nearly 600 arrests.