Vero News > All News > News > Fentanyl, cocaine, stolen motorcycles seized in drug busts

Fentanyl, cocaine, stolen motorcycles seized in drug busts

Written by: November 13 2020
facebook twitter pinterest linkedin
PHOTO PROVIDED BY INDIAN RIVER COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Deputies jailed five men in separate narcotics probes that netted fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, two stolen motorcycles and two stolen golf carts, officials said.

Deputies targeted felony offenders in each incident Thursday, officials said. The five men charged were:

  • Dean James Lang, 40, of the 300 block of 18th Avenue, Vero Beach, charged with possession of cocaine and possession of buphrenorphine. Held on $10,000 bond.
  • George Michael Ercolin Jr., 37, of the 3100 block of U.S. 1, Vero Beach, charged with three counts of possession of controlled substance, tamper with or destroy evidence, two counts of possession of firearm by a convicted felon. Held without bond.
  • Mario Johnson, 48, of the 4300 block of 31st Avenue, Vero Beach, charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, two counts of sale of cocaine and two counts of possession of cocaine. Held on $120,500 bond.
  • Stanley Joseph Perrier, 52, of Barefoot Bay, charged with reckless driving (warrant), driving while license suspended (warrant), and two counts of possession of a controlled substance. Held without bond.
  • James Whitaker, 50, of the 8200 block of 133rd Place, Sebastian, charged with four counts of possession of a controlled substance, two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of firearm with an altered serial number and possession of drug paraphernalia. Held on $117,000 bond.

It was unclear if grand theft charges would be added for the stolen motorcycles and golf carts.

Indian River County deputies conducted a traffic stop Thursday morning on a vehicle in Fellsmere. Lang and Ercolin were in the automobile.

K-9 deputies searched the vehicle and found fentanyl, cocaine, the synthetic drug LSD, methamphetamine, buprenorphine and three firearms, reports show. Deputies arrested Lang and Ercolin.

Ercolin was released from the Florida Department of Corrections earlier this year, reports show. Deputies noted Ercolin has eight past felony convictions, including armed robbery and other violent offenses.

The drug busts continued when the sheriff’s SWAT team searched two homes in Gifford and Roseland. Deputies searched the first home on 31st Avenue and arrested Johnson on drug warrants.

Deputies then went to a residence on 133rd Place, where they arrested Perrier and Whitaker. Inside the home, deputies found methamphetamine, cocaine, oxycodone, three firearms, two stolen Harley Davidson motorcycles and two stolen golf carts, reports show.

The motorcycles were stolen out of Sebastian and Palm Bay, though the dates were not listed, deputies said. The golf carts were stolen out of Sebastian.

Deputies noted Whitaker is a nine-time convicted felon who was released from the Florida Department of Corrections earlier this year.

Photos provided by Indian River County Sheriff’s Office

facebook twitter pinterest linkedin
+100%-

Related Articles

Deputies ID grandmother, granddaughter killed in Sunday home invasion

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Deputies released the identities of a grandmother and pregnant granddaughter who were fatally shot during a home invasion earlier this week in the Highlands. Sheriff's officials identified the victims as Shelby Baker, 19, and Amanda Baker, 68. The granddaughter's unborn baby also died, sheriff's officials previously said. Both women lived at the residence. Family and neighbors initially told news reporters the names of the victims. The sheriff's office did not officially release the identities until Thursday. A third person at the home was injured, but deputies could not release further information. Details on a possible suspect were not available on Thursday. Charges for the suspect will be determined after an arrest is made, said Lt. Kevin ...

Deputies continue to investigate double homicide in Highlands

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A few more details were released in a Sunday home invasion in the Highlands that left two women dead, including one who was pregnant. Deputies said the women - whose names weren't publicly released by the sheriff's office - lived at the residence. The 19-year-old pregnant woman, along with a 68-year-old woman, were shot to death, said Lt. Kevin Jaworski, a spokesperson for the Indian River County Sheriff's Office. A motive for the slaying - or description of any possible suspect - was not immediately released. The pregnant woman's unborn baby also died, Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers said in a Tuesday update. The sheriff said the shooting was an isolated incident and there was ...

Deputies investigating Sunday home invasion homicide

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Details were few in an early Sunday morning home invasion in the Highlands that left at least one person dead in a case sheriff's officials described as "heinous." Deputies are asking anyone who might have information about the incident to contact the sheriff's office. The homicide was an isolated incident and there was no threat to the public, sheriff's officials said. Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers briefly spoke about the homicide during a news conference Sunday at the Vero Beach Highlands Clubhouse. Flowers did not take any questions because the investigation is still in its early stage. "Unfortunately, due to a tragedy we've had a homicide just down the street from us," Flowers said. "We're ...

Comments are closed.