County Court Judge Mark Jones Sentenced A Miami Man to 48 Months

A Miami man has been sentenced to 48 months in state prison following his no-contest plea to three drug counts stemming from cocaine sales in Key West.

Exzabeus Benjamin, 47, pleaded no contest September 20 to two counts of sale of cocaine and one count of unlawful use of a two-way communication device. Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Mark Jones imposed 72 months of probation following the prison term.

On April 26, 2018, Key West police conducted a controlled buy using a confidential informant based on complaints of drug-related activity at a Truman Avenue residence. Police gave the informant $50 in marked cash to make the purchase.

With police monitoring, the informant walked to the residence and sought to buy heroin. Benjamin, police wrote in a report, said he didn’t have any but did offer crack cocaine. Benjamin told the informant to walk away while he got it, then come back. He did and the purchase was made and Benjamin gave the informant his phone number. The informant returned to the detectives monitoring the transaction and police later confirmed the informant bought .05 grams of crack.

In the second case, on May 4, the informant called Benjamin to purchase drugs and Benjamin told him he only had “hundreds,” slang for $100 worth of crack, and told him to “come down like how you came down before,” police wrote in a report. With police monitoring, the informant again walked to the Truman Avenue residence and met up with Benjamin and bought one gram of crack for $100.

Police videotaped both drug deals, which took place within 1,000 feet of Nelson English Park. Benjamin was arrested on June 18 on two arrest warrants, one for each case, issued by Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Mark Jones

Assistant State Attorney Christina Cory represented the state.

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