95 arrested in Sarasota as part of operation targeting drug and firearm sales

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - The Sarasota Police Department along with other law enforcement units arrested 95 people as part of Operation SURGE, a focus on targeting those police say are involved in drug and firearm sales.

Police say a total of 109 people were involved in the illegal possession or sale of firearms and/or illegal narcotics between January 2019 and September 2019 during Operation SURGE.

Police say that 108 of those involved have a combined 2,561 previous charges, resulting into 687 felony convictions, and 26 of these people had 10 or more prior felony convictions each.

95 arrested in Operation SURGE in Sarasota — 95 arrested in Operation SURGE in Sarasota(Sarasota Police Department)

Operation SURGE leads to 95 being arrested — Operation SURGE leads to 95 being arrested(Sarasota Police Department)

95 people arrested during Operation SURGE — 95 people arrested during Operation SURGE(Sarasota Police Department)

Officers arrested 95 of the 109, one of which was given a deferred prosecution deal for successfully completing a Drug Market Intervention program and another six of which have been indicted by Grand Jury and will be prosecuted in the federal system.

According to police, they are still looking for 11 individuals, including:

46-year-old J. Oliver Fort
56-year-old Robert Hicks
33-year-old Bobby Hudson
28-year-old Reshond Keno
29-year-old Tammy Lilley
38-year-old Renardo McCray
57-year-old Susan Rice
41-year-old Barbara Schnurr
21-year-old Natron Sellers
27-year-old Jaron Sheppard
27-year-old DeMario Thomas

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