Leesburg man arrested on drug trafficking charges in SWAT team raid

A Leesburg man was arrested for trafficking narcotics and firearm possession after deputies executed a search warrant and found several unprescribed bottles in his closet.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit along with the LCSO SWAT Team executed a lawful search warrant at 1906 W. Main Street around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to an arrest report from the LCSO. The SWAT team secured the residence and all occupants, including 33-year-old Aaron Cornelius Barrett who was standing in the driveway. They all were read their rights, which they all acknowledged that they understood. 

Detectives with the LCSO Special Investigations unit searched the residence, including Barrett’s bedroom. Inside, they found cocaine in an orange pill bottle and a clear bag on a shelf in the closet. Also in the closet were several orange pill bottles containing 44 white oval pills known as hydrocodone, 51 white rectangle pills known as alprazolam, 97 white oval pills known as oxycodone, the report said. 

Marijuana was located at the bottom of the closet, but a green and silver SCCY .380 caliber pistol model CPX-3 was found in a box on the top shelf of the closet. All the prescription pills found in the orange bottles had names other than Barrett’s on them. The firearm was found on the same shelf and close to the bottles, the report said. 

The oxycodone weighed about nine grams, and the hydrocodone weighed about 63 grams, both of which are considered trafficking amounts. The 120 grams of marijuana was considered a felony amount, while the cocaine found was less than the trafficking amount, the report said. 

Additionally, a traffic citation and other documentation with Barrett’s name on it were found in the same bedroom with the narcotics, the report said. 

During an initial interview, Barrett stated that he and his girlfriend lived in the bedroom. He claimed that he was unaware of any narcotics found inside the residence. The report noted that during interviews with other people on the property, they advised that the bedroom was in fact his. 

Barrett later stated that he would like to admit the narcotics were his. A deputy conducted a second interview with Barrett who stated he was making an additional statement of his own free will. He admitted that all the narcotics found in the bedroom were his and not his girlfriend’s. He freely named off each individual narcotic, including cocaine, pills and marijuana, that was found, stating that they were his and only his narcotics, the report said. 

Barrett was arrested on charges of armed trafficking of hydrocodone and oxycodone and possession of cocaine, alprazolam, marijuana (more than 20 grams) and a firearm in commission of a felony. He was transported to Lake County Jail with bond set at $7,500. 

Initially, a no bond status was requested due to the severity of the offenses, the substantial amount of narcotics located in connection to a firearm, Barrett’s past and present conduct, the nature and probability of danger which Barrett posed to the community, the street value of the narcotics involved, and the weight and evidence against Barrett. Both armed trafficking offenses are punishable by life, and the proof of the guilt is evident or the presumption is great as to all offenses, the report said. 

This was a multi-month investigation involving the distribution of narcotics from the residence. Two narcotics were found in trafficking amounts in the bedroom connected to Barrett, those being oxycodone and hydrocodone. The former carries a three-year minimum mandatory sentence and a $50,000 fine, while the latter carries a 15-year minimum mandatory sentence and a $100,000 fine, the report said. 

There is also a 10-year minimum mandatory due to the armed trafficking statute. The facts and circumstances of the case demonstrated that Barrett was a risk to the community, the report said. 

If the court believed that a no bond status was not appropriate, it was requested on each armed trafficking count that a GPS ankle monitor be equipped prior to release and proof submitted to the Clerk of Court within 24 hours, the report said.