Several residents of Lake County were arrested on drug and ammo charges following a SWAT team raid executing a warrant to search their residence.
The Mid-Florida SWAT Team along with members of the Leesburg Police Department, ATF and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit1 executed a narcotic search warrant on 309 N. Moss St. around 8 a.m. Oct. 18, according to an arrest report from the LPD.
Clifford Wendell Smith, 36, of Leesburg was parked in the driveway inside a grey Chevy Impala when SWATs executed the warrant, and he was subsequently removed from the vehicle and secured. As SWAT operators continued with their mission, several subjects were removed from the residence, including 29-year-old Chantel Nicole Hampton with a small child, 57-year-old Alice Ann Green of Belleview and another man. Operators encountered 63-year-old Hiram Melvin Malone of Leesburg in the attached shed in the backyard, the report said.
All subjects were removed from the residence and secured until the residence was cleared. A CSI officer recorded a walkthrough of the residence, during which a detective read the search warrant to the subjects. They were all asked for their names, dates of birth and residence location. They were then read their rights, the report said.
An LPD officer along with ATF agents and the LCSO SIU then searched the residence in accordance with the warrant. While looking through a bedroom on the southeast front corner of the house, they found a small amount of marijuana and rolling papers on a glass table underneath the television. They also discovered a birth certificate for Smith and a title to a motor vehicle with his name attached, the report said.
The bedroom consisted of both male and female clothing and footwear, along with items belonging to a small child to include a car seat. Because items belonging to Wendell were found inside the bedroom to indicate it was indeed his room, he did not have a medical marijuana card, and he shared his room with Hampton, both received drug charges. However, Hampton was released with a misdemeanor citation with a court date to appear, the report said.
Detectives moved on to search a bedroom on the southwest back corner of the residence where they located a white cake-like substance on the dresser. This was next to a Florida ID card for Green, who was currently on probation. The substance field tested positive for crack cocaine and weighed 1.2 grams, the report said.
Detectives also searched the attached shed where they found four boxes of .380 ammo and several loose rounds of ammo, the report said
Wendell was charged with possession of marijuana (less than 20 grams) and drug paraphernalia (possess or use). Due to him being out on bond for previous drug-related charges and on an ankle monitor, the officer requested no bond. He was instead transported to Lake County Jail with bond set at $3,000.
Green was charged with possession of cocaine, and the West Virginia native was taken to jail on a $5,000 bond.
Malone was charged with possession of ammo by a convicted felon and taken to jail on a $10,000 bond.