Alert deputies recover large amount of drugs

Two alert deputies on Big Pine Key spotted suspicious behavior. They ended up recovering a large amount of drugs and arresting two men in connection.

Deputies Josh Gordon and Ken Fricke spotted a man acting furtively behind the CVS Pharmacy on Big Pine Key at about 5 p.m. Monday. They decided to see what the man was doing. They found him going through a backpack, which he admitted did not belong to him. The man identified himself as “Buzz Collins”, but he had no identification with him.

Deputy Fricke noticed a 2013 Volkswagon Jetta nearby, pulled into the loading dock of CVS with its headlights on and someone inside. He approached the car. The driver, 29 year old Jacob Ortiz of Key West, said he was with the other man, whose name he gave as “Matthew”. Ortiz said Matthew’s wallet was in the car, on the passenger side.

Deputy Fricke retrieved the wallet and discovered the first man’s real name was Matthew Myers, 23 years old, from Big Pine Key . He also found .7 grams of LSD in the wallet.

Ortiz gave permission for Deputy Fricke to search the passenger side of the car. He found marijuana and drug paraphernalia. A backpack belonging to Myers was located in the rear passenger seat. Inside the backpack Deputy Fricke found 19 grams of Heroin in a plastic bag and three plastic bags containing 169 grams of Cocaine.

Ortiz was found to be in possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, which he admitted was his.

Myers was charged with giving a false name to law enforcement, possession of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and possession of LSD. He was also charged with trafficking in cocaine and heroin.

Both men were booked into jail.