A man was convicted of trafficking narcotics after a 20-minute jury deliberation in Central Florida.
46-year-old Anthony Earl Crim Jr. was found guilty of Trafficking in Cocaine and Trafficking Methamphetamine. Jurors deliberated for 20 minutes, after hearing expert testimony and examining evidence presented during the trial, before rendering their verdict.
After the verdict was read, the Honorable Judge Timothy T. McCourt sentenced Crim to 30 years in the Florida Department of Corrections.
“Once again, a major drug trafficker has been removed from our streets thanks to the hard work of our law enforcement partners,” said Fifth Judicial Circuit Chief Assistant State Attorney Walter Forgie. “And with a 30-year sentence, this defendant’s chance at reoffending is slim to none.”
Back in January of this year, Crim was arrested by members of the Unified Drug Enforcement Strike Team (UDEST). UDEST, along with the assistance of the Ocala Police Department’s SWAT team, executed a search warrant at a residence off SW 5th Street in Ocala. Officials were aware of ongoing narcotics sales at the residence and obtained a narcotics search warrant.
Upon arrival at the residence, officials located Crim and another adult occupying the home. Prior to the execution of the search warrant, these individuals were safely detained. While securing Crim, officers noticed that his hands were wet.
During the search of the residence, law enforcement located various narcotics throughout the kitchen and hallway of the home – some of which were soaking wet. Additionally, agents found bags of drugs inside the bathroom, along with a similar bag used for packaging the narcotics located in the toilet bowl. A further search of a boat located on the property yielded additional bags of trafficking amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine.
Crim was arrested and charged accordingly. He was furthermore charged with Animal Cruelty for the dogs, who were in dire condition, that were found on the property during the search warrant. He was convicted of those charges, after a jury trial, earlier this year.
Assistant State Attorney Wynn Vickers successfully prosecuted this case.