TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Three accused drug traffickers are behind bars after deputies say they turned someone else's Tallahassee home into a drug house and starting selling crack.
According to court documents, Leon County deputies responded to an area near American Street in search of several wanted suspects on Wednesday.
Deputies say they eventually spotted one of the suspects, who was wanted for selling cocaine, seen standing in front of a home on American Street. That suspect was was identified as 22-year-old Tony Kilpatrick.
When deputies responded to the scene, they noticed that the front door was closed by a suspect inside. Moments later, deputies saw Kilpatrick and two other people running from the back door.
All three were quickly detained. The two other suspects were identified as Christopher Hoardes and Tyvonne Matthews.
Deputies say a key to the home was found in Hoardes' possession. After finding the key, deputies immediately performed a safety sweep of the home and found no one else inside.
However, they say a clear plastic bag of crack cocaine was found on the kitchen counter. Later during the search, deputies discovered more crack cocaine, drug paraphernalia and a loaded gun in various locations of the home.
Court documents say they found approximately 99 grams of crack cocaine.
Investigators reached out to the owner of the home, who informed them that he had been out of town for the past month and had left Kilpatrick and Hoardes to take care of the house.
While investigating the scene, deputies noticed a Chevrolet Malibu parked in the driveway next to the home. During a search of the car, deputies found 10 more grams of crack cocaine.
Investigators ran the serial number of the gun and found that it was reported as a stolen firearm out of the Tallahassee Police Department.
Documents say surveillance had been conducted around the home for the past three to six months and showed a high amount of vehicle and pedestrian traffic. In addition, they say there had been a large number of Crime Stoppers tips and community complaints regarding the home over the past year.
The person who owned the home told investigators he left the home to work out of town on Nov.18 and left it in the care of Kilpatrick and Hoards until he returned.
Based on the condition of the residence, deputies believed the home was being used for the sole purpose of trafficking, selling and using illegal drugs.
According to documents, Kilpatrick, Hoardes and Matthews were all arrested and transported to the Leon County Detention Facility.
Based on the evidence, Kilpatrick and Hoardes are facing multiple charges including trafficking cocaine, grand theft of a firearm and possession of a structure to traffic drugs. Documents also note that they are both convicted felons.
Matthews is being charged with possession of cocaine.
