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Press Release

Nine Indicted In Multi-State Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging nine individuals with a drug trafficking conspiracy and other charges as a result of a joint investigation dubbed “Operation Ice Man.” According to the indictment and court documents, since early 2022, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, the DeLand Police Department, and the Daytona Police Department have been involved in an investigation into a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that was transporting methamphetamine and cocaine from Phoenix, Arizona and Los Angeles, California to central Florida.

See chart below for details on the defendants and charges. One additional defendant remains unnamed pending their arrest.

Name

Crimes

Potential Penalties

Luis Miguel Hernandez (36, Phoenix, AZ)

Drug trafficking conspiracy

Mandatory minimum of 10 years up to life in prison

Saul Sandoval

(39, Phoenix, AZ)

Drug trafficking conspiracy

Mandatory minimum of 10 years up to life in prison

Tyrone James Jones

(55, Palm Coast, FL)

Drug trafficking conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute

Mandatory minimum of 10 years up to life in prison

Zara Adriana Mascarella (20, Palm Coast, FL)

Drug trafficking conspiracy

Mandatory minimum of 10 years up to life in prison

Jimmie Lee Bizzell

(53, Green Cove Springs, FL)

Drug trafficking conspiracy

Mandatory minimum of 10 years up to life in prison

Alfred Lamar Shavers

(48, Bunnell, FL)

Drug trafficking conspiracy and possession of firearms by a convicted felon

Maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and mandatory minimum of 15 years up to life in prison

Camarie Dontre Shavers (23, Bunnell, FL)

Drug trafficking conspiracy

Mandatory minimum of 5 years up to 40 years in prison

Alfred Lamar Shavers, Jr.

(26, Bunnell, FL)

Drug trafficking conspiracy

Mandatory minimum of 5 years up to 40 years in prison

During the investigation, federal agents and task force officers identified several members of the conspiracy and the methods used by the DTO to ship methamphetamine and cocaine from Mexico across the United States to central Florida using commercial trucks. Law enforcement tracked the drugs from Phoenix and Los Angeles gathering vital intelligence on the DTO. Bizzell was one of the commercial truck drivers who transported the drugs from Phoenix to Florida.

On October 31, 2022, search warrants were executed at six locations in Palm Coast, Bunnell, and Daytona Beach. As a result, 44.54 kilograms of methamphetamine and 2.72 kilograms of cocaine were seized. In addition, nine guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition were seized from a location where Alfred Shavers resided. Jones, Mascarella, Alfred Shavers, Alfred Shavers, Jr., and Camarie Shavers, were all identified as drug distributers in central Florida.

Upon further investigation, law enforcement determined that Sandoval and Hernandez were the sources of the methamphetamine and cocaine from Phoenix and Los Angeles. Agents learned that Sandoval and Hernandez had brokered deals with co-conspirators in Mexico who were sending drugs across the border for Sandoval and Hernandez to sell. Law enforcement also discovered that Sandoval possessed multiple illegal firearms at his residence including fully automatic firearms, short-barrel firearms, and auto switches designed to be installed on Glock handgun slides to render the handguns fully automatic. Authorities believe that since 2021, Sandoval and Hernandez distributed more than 300 kilograms of drugs that were shipped to central Florida.

On April 25, 2023, Sandoval was arrested in Phoenix and a search warrant was executed at his residence. Inside his home, agents located 1,114 grams of fentanyl pills, 18 firearms, 4 firearm suppressors, and more than $5,000 in cash. Sandoval was detained and is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transport to the Middle District of Florida for further proceedings. Hernandez was arrested in Los Angeles on the same day. He was in the middle of conducting a new drug trafficking deal for approximately 36 kilograms of methamphetamine at the time of his arrest. Hernandez was also detained and placed in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending his transport to the Middle District of Florida.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

The indictment also notifies Alfred Lamar Shavers that the United States intends to forfeit four pistols, two rifles, and one shotgun which are alleged to be traceable to the offense.

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, and the Volusia Bureau of Investigation which includes the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, the Daytona Beach Police Department, and the DeLand Police Department. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney AUSA John M. Gardella.

 

Updated May 8, 2023

Topic
Drug Trafficking