Want cocaine with your bread? Convenience store, smoke shop were drug dealing front, police say

Detectives arrest 2 men, woman accusing them of drug dealing at 2 stores in West Little River neighborhood

Police officers arrested William Hadley, left, Jessica Jones, center, and Richard Gilmore, right, on Tuesday at a convenience store and a smoke shop in Miami-Dade County. (Copyright 2023 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.)

MIAMI – Jessica Jones told detectives that she didn’t know anything about the drugs and weapons that detectives found inside a convenience store and its adjacent smoke shop, according to a report the Miami-Dade Police Department released on Wednesday.

Jones, 32, said she was visiting the convenience store on Tuesday, in the area of West Little River, to bring food to Richard Gilmore, who she had been dating for about two months, but she had nothing to do with what was going on there, according to the police report.

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Miami-Dade detectives accused Gilmore, 31, of selling cocaine, crack cocaine, psilocybin mushrooms, and marijuana out of the store, near the corner of Northwest 79 Street and Ninth Avenue, just north of Gladeview, according to the arrest reports.

Detectives reported Jones, who is over 6 feet tall, was inside the cashier booth at the front counter with Gilmore, who is 5 foot 8 inches tall, and the two were close to a loaded Glock 27 pistol, according to the arrest reports.

Jones, of Opa-locka, and Gilmore, of Gladeview, were near a fake bottle of Mountain Dew that upon closer inspection was hiding 24 clear baggies with cocaine inside, and near Ziploc bags with magic mushrooms, according to the reports.

William Hadley, who had $667 in cash on him, was in another room in the building next to a wooden computer desk, and close to him, there were two loaded weapons — a Ruger SR-556 AR-15 and an AK-47 — hidden behind a trap door, according to police.

It’s unclear if Hadley, 30, is related to 79th Street Pit-Stop LLC, a Florida corporation registered to Latoya Hadley and Shakeema Hadley, the title manager, which is registered to the address of the building where he was arrested.

County records show the business owners are not the real estate property owners. The business is steps away from vacant lots owned by the Miami-Dade County government’s Internal Services Department and the General Services Administration.

In all, the detectives who executed the search warrant at the convenience store and the smoke shop reported finding $9,756 in cash, 308 grams of cocaine, 110 grams of crack cocaine, 6 grams of psilocybin mushrooms, and 220 grams of marijuana.

Police officers arrested Jones, Gilmore, and William Hadley during the search and they are each facing a charge of cocaine trafficking in 28 grams or more, but less than 150 kilos, a first-degree felony.

Gilmore and William Hadley are also facing charges of possession of a controlled substance with the purpose of trafficking. Gilmore is also facing a charge of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon.

Detectives were asking anyone with information about the case to call Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.

Photo of items seized

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About the Author:

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.