OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG) — 10 people were arrested on wide-ranging charges after the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Section served a narcotics search warrant.
Deputies served the warrant at a home that served as the site of several overdoses. Neighbors also complained about junk and trash covering the property.
Edwina Jackson, 53, of Shalimar was charged with having a public nuisance residence, elderly neglect and possession of drug paraphernalia.
OCSO investigators said Jackson and Joseph Downing, 62, were caretakers of an elderly female who was living in unsafe and unsanitary conditions, which include being exposed to the frequent use of heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamine in the home. According to deputies, the elderly woman had no bed and stayed in a chair all day.
Downing’s charges include operating a public nuisance residence, elderly neglect, possession of a weapon or ammo by a convicted felon and corruption by threat of a public servant.
According to deputies, a woman who was living on the property in an RV, Alisha Dean, 32, was charged with trafficking methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. Charles Morrison, 54, was charged with possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. Another resident, Doug Spence, was served a warrant for failure to register as a sexual offender.
Four others at the property, Billy Cook, Eldon Cuchens, Greg Murphy and Jered Smith face a charge of resisting an officer without violence, according to deputies. Matthew Strunk was charged with felony violation of probation on original charges of possession of a controlled substance.
Some of the individuals were sleeping outside in cars that had been cut in half. Deputies said inside the roach-infested home, there was no running water and no working bathroom.