Key West Police Detectives arrest 4

 

Key West Police Detectives on Tuesday arrested four alleged drug dealers following three months of undercover operations. Two of the arrests were the result of complaints of drug activity in an abandoned house. The Special Investigations Unit responded to numerous community complaints regarding 318 Truman Ave. Although the house is abandoned, people reported seeing drug dealers and users hanging out on the property.

 

Exzabeus Dreon Benjamin, 46, is charged with two felony counts of the sale of cocaine after he sold the drug to undercover operatives during two operations at the Truman Avenue property.

 

Shawn Michael James, 52, is charged with possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute. Detectives conducted surveillance on the Truman property and observed James hiding a bag of suspected narcotics behind a tow away zone sign on the property. They also saw numerous people enter the property, meet with James briefly, then leave. During several of the encounters James would go retrieve drugs from the bag hidden behind the tow away sign and then meet with the suspected buyers on the side of the house. After witnessing the suspected drug activity, detectives detained James and obtained a search warrant for the property. Detectives recovered the bag that James was hiding behind the sign, which contained 25 bags of powdered cocaine and 14 bags of crack cocaine.

 

At the time of his arrest Tuesday, James was already out on bond from two previous sale of cocaine charges and an unrelated battery charge.

 

Also arrested Tuesday was Alfred Kennedy, 54. He is charged with one felony count of selling cocaine following an undercover operation on White St.

 

Detectives also arrested Alexander Rahming, 50, on Tuesday and charged him with two felony counts of selling cocaine during two separate undercover operations. He was initially arrested for stealing a cancer society collection jar from a local business. While incarcerated, Special Investigations Unit detectives charged Rahming for the drug charges. Rahming has a total bond of $145,000.

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