Deputies: 19 arrested in marijuana pop-up shop sting in Seminole County
Nineteen people were arrested Saturday evening during a bust of a marijuana pop-up shop near Casselberry, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office said.
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Deputies said they conducted an operation targeting the pop-up on Winter Woods Boulevard near State Road 436.
Investigators said two undercover agents with presale tickets were patted down for weapons and allowed to enter a small room in a building.
They said they discovered what appeared to be vendors selling large amounts of packaged marijuana that had been set out on tables.
Investigators said Angel Oscar Seda Rivera sold one of the undercover agents 10 grams of suspected marijuana for $40 before the agents were “compromised and the vendors began to pack their narcotics to leave.”
Multiple law enforcement officers then entered the building to prevent “the destruction and removal of evidence” and to detain those involved, an arrest report said.
Deputies said they approached Arsenio De’Shawn Rivera and Alexandra Ruemmeley in a Jeep in the parking lot, and they discovered two guns, 2,696 grams of suspected marijuana and 28 grams of psilocybin mushrooms in a bag in the vehicle.
“It should be noted that the two appeared to be going inside the building to set up shop initially,” the arrest report said.
Deputies said they discovered six grams of suspected marijuana and three grams of THC wax in a car that Matthew Winckel was seated in.
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They said Oscar Pastrana was in a vehicle with a gun and 237 grams of suspected marijuana.
Agents said they located the following items in the building:
• Table 1 vendors
Deputies said Jonathan Lenoce and Christopher Lenoce, were both armed with guns, and Jonathan Lenoce had 96,649 grams of suspected marijuana and related products at that table.
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• Table 2 vendors
Investigators said Tiara Joiner and June Williams had 2,764 grams of suspected marijuana and related products as well as 220 grams of suspected psilocybin mushrooms at their table.
• Table 3 vendor
Deputies said Jeremiah Townsend had 2,764 grams of suspected marijuana and related products and 220 grams of suspected psilocybin mushrooms at his table.
• Table 4 vendor
Agents said Angel Oscar Seda Rivera had 2,459 grams of suspected marijuana and related products and 632 grams of suspected psilocybin mushrooms at his table.
• Table 5 vendors
Deputies said Alphonso Coney and Lamika Harvey had 3,882 pounds of suspected marijuana and related products at their table.
Alleged customers included Anthony Testman, Austin Goldstein, Dominic Warren-Henderson and Chase Gibson.
“I didn’t cop (expletive); I just got here,” Warren-Henderson spontaneously uttered, according the the report.
Investigators said Jose Vega Figueroa had a key to the room and was conducting pat-downs of people as they entered the shop.
They said Kassim Forbes, a security guard, had a small amount of suspected marijuana on him, and Geovanny Morales was taking tickets at the front door.
Conner Leeb, a nearby business owner who works in the shopping plaza where the bust happened, said he saw the whole thing.
“We heard this really loud bang, we go out and all of a sudden we see all of these cop lights,” he said.
“It’s pretty crazy to think that all that is happening right next door,” Leeb said.
See a map of the scene below:
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