SHERIFF'S REPORT 4-15

Wakulla County Sheriff's Office officials arrested three 31-year-old Crawfordville residents following a drug bust at Mash Island Park just before midnight on Thursday, April 10 , according to Sheriff David Harvey.

Jason Arnold Metcalf was charged with two counts of sale of cocaine, two counts of possession of narcotics with intent to sell, possession of marijuana, more than 20 grams and possession of drug paraphernalia. Joey Robison and Dawn Michelle Kendall were both charged with possession of cocaine.

Deputy Jeremy Johnston was on patrol at the beach when he came up on a vehicle with its lights out. He was greeted by the smell of narcotics as he asked the occupants to roll down their window. The deputy found narcotics and $927 in cash in the vehicle.

Metcalf was involved in an eight month undercover drug operation and law enforcement officials went to Metcalf's place of residence to find $13,520 in cash. The bust included Ecstasy, powder cocaine, drug paraphernalia, pills and marijuana. A safe was also seized in the bust after Metcalf gave law enforcement consent to search the home.

Three undercover drug purchases involving confidential informants were conducted involving Metcalf during the past eight months, officials said.

In addition to Deputy Johnston, Captain Cliff Carroll, Major Maurice Langston, Det. Rick Buckley, Det, Eddie Wester, Sgt. Danny Harrell, Sgt. Ronald Mitchell, CSI Richele Brooks and the Florida Highway Patrol conducted the investigation.

In other activity reported by the Wakulla County Sheriff's Office during the past week:

• The Wakulla County Sheriff's Office continues a series of warnings about fraud. Several fraud cases have occurred in Wakulla County lately. The perpetrators have been using these scams to get money from residents, access credit cards and bank accounts, and possibly stealing identity. Caller ID spoofing. Fraudsters are able to change the way their name and telephone number appears on your caller ID. This gives the caller the ability to contact you from their home phone but make it appear that they are calling from your bank, credit card company, or any other name and number (this is called spoofing). Once again, if you are asked any personal information do not give it to them. Hang up and contact the company rhe caller stated they were calling for to verify of the call is legitimate or a fraud. At this time caller ID spoofing is legal, there are no penalties and the calls cannot be traced. If your uncomfortable with this, contact your Congressman and tell him that caller ID spoofing should be a crime. 
• Contact information: To report a crime call-Wakulla County Sheriff's Office at 850-926-0800. If defrauded on-line, contact the FBI cyber crime complaint center at http://www.ic3.gov/. If you are a victim of identity theft, call the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) or contact them on-line at http://www.ftc.gov/.
• On April 9, Bryan J. Glass of Ochlockonee Bay reported the theft of a boat motor, valued at $2,000. The motor was stolen from under the victim's home. Deputy Andree Brown investigated.
• On April 8, the Kangaroo Gas Company reported that someone drove off with a gas nozzle still stick in their vehicle at the Wakulla Station location. Damage to the store property was listed at $116 and a suspect has been identified. Deputy Ryan Muse investigated.
• On April 8, Deana M. Morris of Sopchoppy recovered a wallet and property belonging to a New Jersey woman on the side of the road. The victim was identified as Susan H. Stover of Peapack, N.J. Assorted property and credit cards, valued at $37, were recovered. Deputy Lindsay Allen investigated.
• On April 8, Kitty H. Loftin of Crawfordville reported a credit card fraud as someone removed $1 from her bank account. Deputy Robert Giddens investigated.
• On April 9, Nelda F. Jackson of Crawfordville reported a fraud case involving a request for her to send money to suspects in exchange for her allegedly winning a sweepstakes. Jackson realized the scam was a fraud and contacted Deputy Pam Veltkamp.
• On April 14, Aron K. Dehart of Crawfordville reported the theft of copper from a Verizon Wireless cellular telephone tower. He noticed that someone damaged the lightning protection system that connects to the generator. The stolen property was valued at $750. Deputy Andrew Vass investigated.
• On April 11, Ronald A. Mowrey of Tallahassee reported a boat burglary as a navigation system on Wakulla County boat was stolen. The stolen property is valued at $1,250. Deputy Ben Steinle investigated.
• On April 11, James A. Dehaven of Alligator Point reported the theft of his cell phone from his shopping cart at Winn-Dixie. The phone is valued at $100. Lt. Ry Johnson investigated.
• On April 14, Chris R. Hill of Crawfordville reported a vehicle theft at her home. She observed two suspects running away from her vehicle. Sgt. Danny Harrell, Deputy Matt Helms, Lt. Ronald Mitchell, Lt. Sherrell Morrison and Lt. Chris Savary searched the area for the two men. Deputy Andree Brown also investigated.

The Wakulla County Sheriff's Office received 813 calls for service during the past week.

Note to our readers: The people who are reported as charged with crimes in this column have not yet been to trial and are therefore innocent until proven guilty.