Based on an informant’s tip, Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies Thursday morning arrested P-Section resident Anthony DiBella, a convicted felon with a criminal past in New York, for trafficking in marijuana and owning ammunition and firearms–illegal for convicted felons–including an assault rifle. The department’s SWAT team served the warrant at DiBella’s home on 23 Pilgrim Drive in Palm Coast. He was being held on $46,000 bond.
He’d been convicted in Queens, N.Y., for a third-degree burglary in 1980.
County Judge Melissa Moore-Stens had signed a search warrant for DiBella’s home on Jan. 28, for suspected sale of marijuana. Information on the sale and the weaponry dates back to an investigation that culminated in early January, when the informant spoke to deputies and a $75 controlled buy of marijuana was set up, along with a controlled phone call between the buyer and DiBella. The source conducted the transaction the afternoon of Jan. 5, much the same way as previous such controlled operations were conducted by detectives and deputies recently.
At 6:25 a.m., members of the SWAT team executed the search warrant at the P-Section house, where DiBella was apparently with his wife. A M&P Smith & Wesson .223 assault rifle was found in the garage. Also found: four mason jars with marijuana residue, a marijuana grinder, a scale, and numerous other drug paraphernalia, according to the arrest report. DiBella, 55, told the cops that he had been planning to get his 1980 felony conviction “taken care of with a lwayer,” though he had also told deputies that he had forgotten that he’d been convicted.
A small amount of cocaine and a box of ammunition were located in the master bedroom at the house.
The sheriff’s office, like many other police agencies across the country, now routinely use SWAT teams to serve search warrants for non-violent offenses such as marijuana possession or sale. But just 5 grams of marijuana were found in DiBella’s home. DiBella does not have a previous criminal record in Flagler.
Possessing less than 20 grams of marijuana in Florida is a first-degree misdemeanor. Selling pot is a third-degree felony, and a second-degree felony when within 1,000 feet of a school, park or a place of worship.
JohnStanton134 says
Cue the misinformed anti-gun nuts.
NortonSmitty says
OK, I got abouta thousand smart assed comments to make here, but something is not right with this story. And not just because a white guy got busted for drugs in the P section I’ll sleep on it and ge bact to y’all.
Obama 2015 says
Cocaine, selling weed, convicted felon and a Smith & Wesson .223 assault rifle in the garage. Sounds like another responsible gun owner. Assault Life for sure, I hope he has a sticker on his back car window.
Beerhead Bubba says
Being an avid responsible gun owner, I agree with LE this guy was not SAFE with a firearm when he’s got cocaine and pot in his house. You do drugs…you give up your 2nd amendment rights plus arrested for illegal drugs.
JimBob says
We got trouble, right here in River City, and it’s called P-O-O-L, Pool. Oh wait….
Anonymous says
Just shows that gun laws don’t mean crap to criminals …. Keep trying to place stricter rules for law abiding citizens to obtain a firearm while the criminals are laughing at you all cuz it doesn’t matter to them one bit…..
Anonymous says
The guy had an AR-15 a couple joints, and a micro amount of coke. Whats the big deal?
Lean back says
what we have here is a pot seller cociane user who is a felon and has weapons in his home, that is what you call a reciepe for a disaster waiting to happen obviously this person does not care and has not learned from his previous mistakes, I don’t know about other folks out there but I sure don’t want that kind of activity or people like l this living my backyard I’m sure folks with children would agree with me. I consider the P section to pretty descent until hearing this it makes me think what else is going on.
markingthedays says
Call me a bleeding heart, but should a 35 year old conviction even be relevant to the story?
lena Marshal says
agreed
Anonymous says
no not at all