Citizen complaints lead deputies to large drug distribution operation at Umatilla home

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — Lake County detectives arrested three people Wednesday after a months-long investigation into complaints about drug activity.

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According to the sheriff’s office, their six-month investigation started with Crimeline tips and complaints from “concerned citizens” saying that 46-year-old Robert Donaldson was distributing large amounts of drugs from a home on Pine Street in Umatilla.

With assistance from the Department of Homeland Security and officers from police departments in Mount Dora and Eustis, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team and Special Investigations Bureau executed a search warrant at the home early Wednesday morning.

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According to the sheriff’s office, the search yielded large amounts of cocaine and cocaine that had been manufactured into crack cocaine with a combined weight of approximately one and a half pounds.

Detectives also found stamped blue pills that tested positive for fentanyl and approximately seven pounds of marijuana.

In all, deputies estimated the street value of the drugs they found to be well over $50,000.

In addition to the drugs, detectives say they found approximately $10,000 in cash and a handgun that was reported stolen in Lake County.

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Donaldson was arrested Wednesday on a long list of charges including trafficking in more than 400 grams of cocaine, trafficking in more than four grams of fentanyl, possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana with intent to sell, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, manufacturing cocaine into a cocaine base, and ownership, lease, rental or possession of a residence for tracking in or manufacturing a controlled substance.

Deputies noted Donaldson has a lengthy criminal history and was already out on probation when he was arrested. He was also charged with violating that probation and is being held in the Lake County jail with no bond set on the new charges.

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22-year-old Joana Silva, who deputies identified as Donaldson’s fiancé, was arrested on the same list of drug charges. She was additionally charged with tampering with evidence for attempting to flush the crack cocaine down the toilet during the execution of the search warrant, according to the sheriff’s office. She’s also being held on no bond.

A third suspect, identified as 44-year-old Lashonda Gatson, was arrested and charged with trafficking in more than four grams of fentanyl and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Gatson is being held in the Lake County jail on a total of $60,000 bond.