More than a dozen arrested in Umatilla area drug bust

UMATILLA, Fla. — Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration and Lake County investigators said they arrested more than a dozen suspected drug dealers, including a 77-year-old pastor from Umatilla.

Agents said the pastor, Gussie Smith, was trafficking oxycodone in an area of Umatilla known as "the Bottoms."

Oxycodone is the narcotic painkiller found in Percocet and some other prescription drugs.

The DEA went after 18 suspected drug dealers with help from the Sheriff's Office and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents.

Investigators said the suspects sold drugs out of their homes to undercover agents.

According to investigators, agents purchased oxycodone, bath salts, crack cocaine and meth.

Most of those arrested are from Umatilla, a small town of 3,500 where people are likely to know their neighbors.

"When you're selling 18 oxycodone pills, let's say you're selling them for $20 apiece, doesn't sound like a lot of money to us, maybe $300 to $400, but it certainly is in that environment," said Jeffrey Walsh of the DEA.

Smith, known in the community as Ms. Gussie, is pastor at The Church of Jesus in Umatilla.

Some of those arrested live on the same street as Smith, others on the street where her small church is located.

Investigators said Umatilla was the perfect place for drug dealers to set up.

They said the area known as the Bottoms has become a place to sell drugs and stash stolen vehicles and guns, which is why the ATF was involved.

"The majority of these people, we're confident that we're going to be able to show, did not have any legitimate means of income other than their narcotic sales," said Walsh.

Most of the suspects, with the exception of Smith, are still in the Lake County jail, with bonds as high as $100,000.

WFTV