VERO BEACH — A 63-year-old man was jailed after police said he sold crack cocaine mixed with fentanyl to a confidential informant earlier this week. The drug deal took place less than a mile away from Vero Beach High School’s Freshman Learning Center, reports show.
Gary Paul Ritto
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY INDIAN RIVER COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Gary Paul Ritto, of Fort Pierce, was charged with sale or delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance. Ritto was held Friday at the Indian River County Jail on $55,500 bond.
Vero Beach police detectives met with the informant on Tuesday. Detectives gave the informant $50 to buy cocaine from Ritto, reports show.
The informant – wearing a hidden audio and video recording device – then met with Ritto at his car in the 1800 block of 14th Avenue for the drug deal, police said. Ritto handed the informant a brown paper towel containing two pieces of a white rock-like substance in exchange for the $50, reports show.
The informant then left the area and met with detectives. The substances tested positive for fentanyl and cocaine, reports show.
Later that evening, police conducted a traffic stop on Ritto for not wearing a seat belt. Police K-9 “Batman” sniffed out the presence of narcotics inside the car, officials said.
Officers searched Ritto, along with the car, and found a digital scale, crack pipe, 2.9 grams of ecstasy mixed with fentanyl and $8,662 in cash, police said.
Police arrested Ritto and booked him into the county jail. Ritto has an arraignment at 8:45 a.m. April 27, court records show.