Prosecutors say these conspirators, some of who are part of
the Pagan's Motorcycle Club, are responsible for hundreds of grams of meth being
on the streets of Florida, including in Jacksonville and St. Augustine.
Robert Foster, of St. Augustine, has pleaded guilty to
conspiracy to possess meth with intent to distribute and possession of meth
with intent to distribute. His plea agreement says he took part in a group that
was responsible for distributing kilos of meth from Georgia to other
trafficking groups in Florida. The drugs were largely moved to Central Florida,
but the plea agreement says they were brought to St. Augustine as well. Foster
specifically admits to conspiring to distribute at least 150 grams of meth. He
further admits to, on a single occasion in April 2018, purchasing 137 grams of
meth that was 99% pure.
Salvador Rivas, of Jacksonville, has pleaded guilty to his
part in a related organization, although not directly the operation that Foster
was involved in. He faces one count of possession of meth with intent to
distribute and two counts of distribution of meth. The leader of the
organization Rivas was in is responsible for distributing kilos of meth in
Florida, according to court records, with some of that coming to Jacksonville.
Rivas served as a runner, and his plea agreement says he conspired to
distribute more than 500 grams of meth from around November 2017 through
September 2018. He further admits to distributing nine ounces of 96% pure meth
in exchange for $1800 in one incident in Daytona Beach, and exchanging 561
grams of 92% pure meth for $3800 in an incident in Jacksonville.
The other suspects who have pleaded guilty as part of this
targeted investigation include 47-year-old Barbara Caylor-Hernandez, of Ormond
Beach; 44-year-old Ramiro Fraire-Chavarria, of Dalton, GA; 47-year-old Michael
Babin, of Daytone Beach; 28-year-old Melanie Kerr, of Daytona Beach;
41-year-old Keith Simmons, of Oak Hill; 51-year-old Carla Ray, of Oak Hill;
49-year-old Spencer Burkard, of New Smyrna Beach; 54-year-old Daniel Barbarino,
of Daytona Beach; 33-year-old Andrew Shettler, of Palm Coast; 47-year-old Brian
Burt, of Port Orange; 55-year-old Lawrence Sann, of Bunnell; 33-year-old
Michael Andrews; 38-year-old Jason Stringer, of Daytona Beach; 35-year-old
Melissa Ford, of Daytona Beach; and 53-year-old Theodore Bilski, of Daytona
Beach.
Both local suspects could face up to life in prison. Their
sentencing dates have not yet been set.
These indictments stemmed from FBI and DEA investigations
that involved controlled drug purchases by an undercover officer and several
confidential informants, as well as intercepted telephone conversations.
SOURCE: WOKV