Deputies actions may have saved dope dealer’s life
By DAVE SHELTON
Article published on Wednesday, March 2, 2005  |
LARGO – Pinellas County Sheriff’s deputies claim their investigation of drug trafficking in the city may have saved the life of a drug dealer.
A local couple have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder and are accused of plotting to kill their drug supplier, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.
On Monday, deputies raided an apartment on Roosevelt Avenue in Largo and arrested Neville A. White Jr., 19, and Suzanne Pugh, 34. In addition to the conspiracy charge, White was charged with possession of cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia and cocaine sales. Pugh also was charged with sale of crack cocaine, two counts of possession of crack, possession of paraphernalia, sale of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance.
As of Wednesday, White was being held in the county jail on $40,500 bail, and Pugh was being held in the jail on $71,000 bail.
Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Tim Goodman characterized the couple as street-level drug dealers. He said the alleged victim of their murder plot wasn’t being identified since their investigation was still ongoing.
Deputies served a search warrant on the couple’s home and reportedly found the .22-caliber revolver the couple allegedly planned to use to rob their drug supplier and kill him. They also found two potatoes that had been carved, the police said, to work as makeshift silencers for the handgun.
Trumaine D. Bronson, 21, provided the weapon to White and Pugh, according to the Sheriff’s Office. He was charged with carrying a concealed firearm after being arrested during the raid. Bronson, who lives on Highland Avenue in Clearwater, was released after posting bail.
The deputies claim that Bronson had agreed to supply the revolver to White and Pugh but didn’t say if he was aware of the couple’s plan to kill the drug dealer.
Two other men were arrested during Monday’s raid: John L. Poole, 60, who lives at the Roosevelt Boulevard address, and Josshua A. Lanauze, 19, who lives on Dorsel Drive in Holiday. They were both charged with possession of marijuana and released after posting bail.
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Article published on Wednesday, March 2, 2005
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