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

2 seriously hurt in multi-vehicle crash on U.S. 1

GIFFORD — Two people suffered severe injuries following a three-vehicle crash on U.S. 1 that left a person trapped inside an automobile, sheriff's deputies said. Indian River County Fire Rescue crews used rescue machinery to free the individual from the wreckage, said Sgt. Kevin Jaworski, a spokesperson for the Indian River County Sheriff's Office. The wreck involving a silver van, Subaru Outback and an unknown third vehicle, happened about 11 a.m. Monday in the 4500 block of U.S. 1, east of Old Dixie Highway in Gifford. Jaworski said the vehicles had heavy damage from impact. One person was flown to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce, while the other individual was taken by ambulance, Jaworski said. Florida Highway Patrol ...

VBHS student arrested after gun found in backpack

VERO BEACH — A Vero Beach High School student was detained after deputies found a loaded 9 mm handgun, along with a magazine containing 10 rounds, inside his backpack after he walked through a metal detector early Thursday. Classes had not yet started when the incident took place, said sheriff's Capt. Joe Abollo, a spokesperson for the Indian River County Sheriff's Office. Deputies later learned the firearm was stolen out of Okeechobee County. Abollo said there was no threat made to the 2,636-student campus located at 1707 16th Street in Vero Beach. Michael Anthony Bell Jr., 18, of Fort Pierce, was charged with attempting to enter a school property with a weapon or firearm, carrying an unlicensed firearm, grand theft ...

Deputies: Shutdown of illegal arcades leads to two arrests, seizure of $37K

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — More details were released in a Wednesday raid that led authorities to shut down two adult arcades and arrest the owners of the establishments. The joint investigation led officials to seize more than $37,000 and collect 68 Las Vegas-style slot machines considered illegal in most parts of Florida, deputies say. Jing Guo Yang and Jinquan Lin, both 35 and of the 6500 block of 35th Place, Vero Beach, were each charged with racketeering. Both were held Saturday at the Indian River County Jail on a $1 million bond. A joint investigation by the Indian River County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Gaming Control Commission uncovered slot machines giving cash prizes for winnings, which is prohibited under ...

Comments are closed.