FCSO CASE UPDATE: Nine Sentenced to Federal Prison in Multi-State Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

UNNELL, FL – The United States Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida has announced that all nine individuals charged as a result of “Operation Ice Man” have been sentenced to prison. Each defendant was found guilty by a jury or pleaded guilty for their role in a multi-state drug trafficking conspiracy that spanned from Mexico to California, Arizona, central Florida, and Flagler County.

The two-year local, state, and federal investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Daytona Beach Resident Agency, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, the Daytona Beach Police Department, and the DeLand Police Department. Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly and U.S. Attorney Roger B. Hanberg announced the results of the investigation during a May 2023 press conference.

“After much hard work over two years, these poison peddlers are off the streets and into federal prison where they belong,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “This case was the largest Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) investigation the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office has ever been involved in. I want to commend everyone that was involved in dismantling this DTO which had ties to a Mexican Cartel. I especially want to thank U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg and his team of prosecutors for putting these major drug traffickers in prison for many years to come.”

Six of the nine individuals are Flagler County residents. See chart below for details and sentence information:

Original news release below.

Nine Indicted in Multi-State Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

ORLANDO, FLORIDA – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging nine individuals with a drug trafficking conspiracy and other charges as a result of a joint investigation dubbed “Operation Ice Man.”

According to the indictment and court documents, since early 2022, the Federal Bureau of

Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, the DeLand Police Department, and the Daytona Police Department have been involved in an investigation into a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that was transporting methamphetamine and cocaine from Phoenix, Arizona and Los Angeles, California to central Florida.

See chart below for details on the defendants and charges. One additional defendant remains unnamed pending their arrest.

During the investigation, federal agents and task force officers identified several members of the conspiracy and the methods used by the DTO to ship methamphetamine and cocaine from Mexico across the United States to central Florida using commercial trucks. Law enforcement tracked the drugs from Phoenix and Los Angeles gathering vital intelligence on the DTO. Bizzell was one of the commercial truck drivers who transported the drugs from Phoenix to Florida.

On October 31, 2022, search warrants were executed at six locations in Palm Coast, Bunnell, and Daytona Beach. As a result, 44.54 kilograms of methamphetamine and 2.72 kilograms of cocaine were seized. In addition, nine guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition were seized from a location where Alfred Shavers resided. Jones, Mascarella, Alfred Shavers, Alfred Shavers, Jr., and Camarie Shavers, were all identified as drug distributors in central Florida.

Upon further investigation, law enforcement determined that Sandoval and Hernandez were the sources of the methamphetamine and cocaine from Phoenix and Los Angeles. Agents learned that Sandoval and Hernandez had brokered deals with co-conspirators in Mexico who were sending drugs across the border for Sandoval and Hernandez to sell. Law enforcement also discovered that Sandoval possessed multiple illegal firearms at his residence including fully automatic firearms, short-barrel firearms, and auto switches designed to be installed on Glock handgun slides to render the handguns fully automatic. Authorities believe that since 2021, Sandoval and Hernandez distributed more than 300 kilograms of drugs that were shipped to central Florida.

On April 25, 2023, Sandoval was arrested in Phoenix and a search warrant was executed at his residence. Inside his home, agents located 1,114 grams of fentanyl pills, 18 firearms, 4 firearm suppressors, and more than $5,000 in cash. Sandoval was detained and is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transport to the Middle District of Florida for further proceedings. Hernandez was arrested in Los Angeles on the same day. He was in the middle of conducting a new drug trafficking deal for approximately 36 kilograms of methamphetamine at the time of his arrest. Hernandez was also detained and placed in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending his transport to the Middle District of Florida.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

The indictment also notifies Alfred Lamar Shavers that the United States intends to forfeit four pistols, two rifles, and one shotgun which are alleged to be traceable to the offense.

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation.

OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the

United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, and the Volusia Bureau of Investigation which includes the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, the Daytona Beach Police Department, and the DeLand

Police Department. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney AUSA John M. Gardella.

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