The national anti-drug program lets private vendors profit from sales of its logo items. Strapped for cash, the nation's most popular anti-drug education program is allowing private businesses to sell T-shirts and other items with its logo and keep 80 percent of the proceeds -- an arrangement that has angered two Central Florida sheriffs. Lake County Sheriff Chris Daniels and Seminole County Sheriff Don Eslinger said they're worried people will think they are donating to the local effort when they buy a D.A.R.E. item from a vendor set up outside stores such as Wal-Mart, Lowe's or Winn-Dixie. The California parent organization, D.A.R.E. America, pockets a 20 percent cut. [continues 728 words]
LEESBURG -- A man arrested on drug charges said Wednesday that he was helping addicts beat their need for prescription medications. Daniel Civic, 50, of Leesburg was booked in the Lake County Jail on Tuesday night on several charges, including drug trafficking, drug possession with intent to distribute and sale of a controlled substance. He remained in jail Wednesday with bail set at $67,500. Civic said he helps "hundreds" of drug addicts in his role as minister of Voice of Hope Ministries, which he founded in New York years ago. A few live in one of the two homes in Leesburg and Eustis that he "donated" to the ministry, Civic said. [continues 538 words]
The day before Gregory Kokolakis took his own life, he called his mother from the Lee County Stockade in agony. "He called me crying," said his mother, Adrienne Croom. "He said, "I am in so much pain. I can't stand it.' " Kokolakis, 21, wasn't allowed access to his methadone, an opiate used by doctors to help addicts off painkillers. "He said 'Mom, my medication is in my property, and they won't give it to me,' " Croom recalled Wednesday. [continues 431 words]
Fort Myers Battling OxyContin Problem Fort Myers Detective Kelly Witt could use the kind of help offered by Purdue Pharma - the maker of the controversial painkiller OxyContin. The pharmaceutical company awarded the Fort Myers Police Department a $10,000 grant to be used for prescription drug investigations. The city council is expected to approve the grant today. Police plan to use the money for overtime on cases, drug buys that target dealers and reverse stings that go after users. Fort Myers is the third Florida police department to get the grant, according to Purdue Pharma. [continues 336 words]
Death Of Officer's Son Spotlights Influx Of Prescription Drug Into SW Florida Lee County sheriff's Capt. Jeff Taylor was chatting with a sergeant about their families when Lt. Matt Powell walked into his office on June 19, 2003. It was another routine morning until his friend told Taylor that his son had overdosed on drugs. As Taylor drove to Gulf Coast Hospital, he thought it would be a great lesson for his son. His son would get sick -- maybe he'd have his stomach pumped -- and learn the stupidity of drugs. The teenager's experience would end with a grand chewing out by dad. [continues 828 words]
National Night Out events Tuesday It's good to know your neighbor. Someone to keep an eye on your home. Someone who will call the police when a stranger lurks about. On Tuesday, neighbors throughout Lee County will be meeting and greeting each other during the annual National Night Out. The event brings neighbors together to let criminals know that the streets belong to the law-abiding folks. "The (drug dealers') business decreases that night," said Stacey Payne, a Lee County sheriff's crime prevention specialist. [continues 219 words]
16 Arrested In Operation Dragnet; Warrants Remain For 21 Others For the second time in less than a year, armed police officers swept through the Charleston peninsula in an effort to cripple drug sales in the city's neighborhoods. Tuesday's sweep - dubbed Operation Dragnet - targeted 37 suspects described by Charleston police as low-level drug dealers. By the end of the operation, police arrested 16 people and were still looking for the remaining 21. The raid came more than nine months after Operation Mayday, a precisely plotted crackdown that targeted a thriving heroin distribution network on Charleston's East Side. Mayday, spearheaded by the U.S. Attorney's Violent Crime Task Force, combined the efforts of federal, state and local police in a sweep that led to 43 arrests. [continues 1102 words]
