Solo crash kills Middleburg woman
JACKSONVILLE – A 58-year-old Middleburg woman is dead after a one-vehicle crash that took place Monday morning near the intersection of Branan Field Road and New World Avenue on Jacksonville’s Westside.
The Florida Highway Patrol said they were withholding the woman’s name until her next of kin have been notified.
FHP said the woman was driving a 2004 Ford Expedition northbound on SR 23/Branan Field Road when she veered off the right side of the road and struck a crash attenuator with the left front of the SUV. The crash caused the vehicle to overturn several times and partially eject the driver who was not wearing a safety belt.
Police said the SUV came to a rest on all four wheels facing westward. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The road was blocked for approximately 30 minutes to allow FHP to investigate the scene.

Orange Park man faces multiple drug charges
ORANGE PARK – An Orange Park man was arrested following a routine stop after he swerved out of his lane on Blanding Boulevard. Deputies found multiple types of illegal and prescription drugs in his vehicle, according to the police report.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrested Richard J. Lewis, 35, on March 13 after the car he was driving abruptly switched lanes, nearly hitting another vehicle.
Upon further investigation deputies noticed syringes in the back seat of the vehicle and proceeded to search Lewis’ car. After the search, they recovered about four grams of crack cocaine, less than a gram of methamphetamine, more than a gram of cocaine, and about 15 prescription pills including codeine, suboxone, morphine, and hydromorphone.
Lewis was arrested and transported to the Clay County Jail where he remains at press time. He faces seven total felony charges, including six for drug possession, and one for possession of cocaine with the intent to sell, all combining to a bond amount over $85,000. His next court appearance is set for April 19.

Three arrested in sting operation
ORANGE PARK – Three people, two from Clay County and one from Jacksonville, were arrested following a buy/bust operation carried out by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office where the three attempted to sell a half ounce of methamphetamine in the Sonny’s BBQ parking lot off Kingsley Avenue.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrested John Coy Teeter, 42, of Jacksonville, Amanda Darleen Fox, 28, of Middleburg, and Adam Brent Straughn, 29, of Jacksonville, on March 9 at 8:30 p.m. after observing the three attempting to sell multiple bags of methamphetamine.
The report said that Fox and Teeter were in the vehicle during the incident, showing the bags to the prospective buyer, who then returned to their car to get the money for the drugs. The deputies moved in and arrested Fox and Teeter, and eventually caught up with Straughn, who was watching from inside the restaurant.
Upon investigation of the vehicle, more than 30 grams of methamphetamine was recovered, in addition to some pills that were identified as Alprazolam or Xanax.
Following the arrest, all three suspects were taken to the Clay County Jail where Fox and Teeter face felony charges for trafficking methamphetamine, and Straughn faces felony charges for the conspiracy to traffic the drug. Fox and Teeter are being held on a $100,000 bond, while Straughn is held on $75,000.

Jax Beach man faces gun charges
ORANGE PARK – Orange Park Police say a Jacksonville Beach man faces charges of carrying a concealed weapon without a license and trespassing on school property with a firearm.
Police arrested Devin Michael Tackette, 23, on March 9 at 11:43 a.m. after OPPD officers went to the Everest University campus at 805 Wells Rd. where a witness told police he had brought a gun on campus.
Within minutes of leaving the campus on foot, Tackette walked across Wells Road to the Holiday Inn where a Clay County Sheriff’s Office deputy made contact with him as he was coming out of a bathroom.
According to the police report, the deputy was unaware of the call to the OPPD regarding the gun on campus, however, after the call, the deputy worked with an OPPD officer to search Tackette. The search revealed six 25-caliber bullets in Tackette’s backpack along with a recoil pin from his right front pocket.
Police then went to search for the gun and found it in a trashcan in the bathroom wrapped inside a paper towel.
A woman identified Tackette as the man who earlier that morning, had pulled the gun on her at the college campus.
At press time, Tackette remained in the Clay County Jail where his bond is set at $25,003.

Jacksonville man faces lewd and lascivious charges
OAKLEAF – A Clay County man was arrested on a warrant issued in January after allegedly assaulting a victim under the age of 16 while she was sleeping in July of 2016.
Jeffery Benjamin Andrew Noakes, 18, was arrested on March 10 on a warrant that had been active since January. Noakes, 17 at the time, had assaulted a girl under the age of 16 while staying at a friend’s house in July 2016. Since the incident, and following testimony from Noakes to deputies in December of 2016, a warrant was issued on January 4.
Following the arrest, Noakes was transported from the Duval County Jail to the Clay County Jail where he was being held on a $15,000 bond. Noakes has since been released.

Assault charges for duo
ORANGE PARK – Two Orange Park men face felony assault charges after showing up at a man’s house with baseball bats.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrested Edgui D. Serrano, 20, and Axl Miguel Reyes Rodriguez, 20, on March 12 after the two men confronted a man at his home with baseball bats.
According to the report, the victim got a knock on his door early that morning and upon opening the door was met with three men wielding baseball bats. Serrano was right in the doorway, with Reyes slightly behind him, and the men aggressively asked for someone named Jeremy whom the victim claims he did not know. After the victim identified Serrano and Reyes they were arrested and transported to Clay County Jail.
Both men face felony aggravated assault charges with the intent to commit a felony, and have since been released.

Two men arrested with counterfeit credit cards
ORANGE PARK – Two men from Miami-Dade County were arrested after a deputy noticed their license plate was damaged and they had a faulty tail light.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrested Ronal Hernandez Garcia, 19, and Luis Cangas Garcia, 27, both of Hialeah, Florida on March 12 as they were driving along Blanding Boulevard.
According to the report, the men’s vehicle was fitted with a license plate that was so badly damaged it was unreadable, in addition to having a broken right rear taillight. After approaching the car, deputies noticed the smell of marijuana smoke and saw the passenger, Luis Garcia, attempting to hide something under the seat. After removing the suspects from the vehicle, deputies discovered about 35 prepaid credit cards spread out in the rear of the car. After running the cards through a credit card tracker, the cards were determined to be counterfeit cards that actually contained information from cardholders other than the two men.
Following the arrest, deputies transported both Garcias to the Clay County Jail where they each face charges of trafficking counterfeit credit cards. Their bond is set at $15,003 each.

Middleburg woman seriously injured after colliding with a tree
MIDDLEBURG – One woman was hospitalized last Friday after her Toyota Corolla left the road and struck a tree along Thunder Road in Middleburg.
At about 4 a.m. driver Ashley Mooney, 20, was travelling northbound on Thunder Road when her car ran off the left side of the road, stopping after colliding with a tree. After the accident, Mooney was transported to Orange Park Medical with what the Florida Highway Patrol called serious injuries.
The Florida Highway Patrol is still investigating the cause of this one-vehicle accident. Charges are pending.

Walters sentenced to 30 years for child pornography
JACKSONVILLE – U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan March 10 sentenced Leonard Leland Walters Jr., 45, of Green Cove Springs to 30 years in prison for production of child pornography and one count of transportation of child pornography. Following imprisonment, Walters was ordered to a lifetime term of supervised release.
According to court documents, in March 2015, Walters began communicating with an undercover law enforcement officer online, during which he bragged about having sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old on a regular basis. Walters offered to assist the undercover officer with sexually abusing the undercover’s fictitious 14-year-old “niece.” On or about March 24, 2015, Walters transmitted a photograph depicting an image of a child engaged in sexually explicit conduct. On April 27, 2015, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office executed a federal search warrant at Walters’s residence in Green Cove Springs, Florida. Several electronic devices were seized and approximately 619 still images and 11 videos depicting a minor victim engaging in sexually explicit conduct, in many instances with Walters, were recovered.
This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. Prior to this arrest, Walters was already a registered Florida Sex Offender.