Sheriff Grady Judd just took down one of the most lethal gang operations Florida has seen in years.
The Valentine Bloods gang was flooding Central Florida with fentanyl and meth shipped directly from California – operating like a military supply chain with stash houses in Phoenix and Atlanta.
And Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and Sheriff Grady Judd seized enough poison to kill 3.3 million people.
The Valentine Bloods Built A Cross-Country Death Pipeline
The gang ran operations spanning Polk, Hillsborough, Osceola, Orange, Volusia, and Pasco counties.
They moved methamphetamine from California suppliers through western hubs into Central Florida.
Gang leader Jemarion Young of Winter Haven controlled the network.
Investigators used wiretaps and surveillance from August 2025 through January 2026 to crack the case.
Fourteen defendants are confirmed Valentine Bloods members – part of the United Blood Nation gang founded in 1993.
This subset has been responsible for violent crimes across the East Coast for decades, with major busts resulting in life sentences for gang leaders in North Carolina and Virginia.
https://twitter.com/AGJamesUthmeier/status/2022342982377111850?s=20
This Gang Used The Exact Same Route The Mexican Cartels Built
Here's how the fentanyl gets here: Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel cook it in Mexico with chemicals shipped from China, then move it through California and Arizona into America.
The Valentine Bloods plugged straight into that pipeline.
The Treasury tracked $1.4 billion in suspicious fentanyl transactions last year – California, Florida, and New York topped the list.
This gang plugged directly into that pipeline.
Britney Jefferson of Winter Haven coordinated a 10-pound methamphetamine shipment from California that detectives intercepted December 15.
She's the sister of two men arrested in a 2022 drug trafficking case.
Bruce Young walked out of prison November 29, 2025 after serving seven years for meth trafficking – then contacted gang members the same day to resume operations.
https://twitter.com/AGJamesUthmeier/status/2022325111982883177?s=20
One Woman Is Brain-Dead, Three Others Are Dead
Angela Valenta, 42, was found unresponsive in a Lake Wales hotel room December 23, 2025.
She's hospitalized with minimal brain function after investigators traced the fentanyl to William Benjamin Newton Jr., known as "Knowledge."
Newton was on probation for cocaine sales when he allegedly provided the deadly dose.
Police seized 6.1 pounds of fentanyl and 1.4 pounds of cocaine during his arrest.
If Valenta dies, Newton faces first-degree murder charges.
He's under investigation for three other fentanyl deaths: Terry Morris, Dante Niehoff, and Madelyn Smith.
Judd held up photos of all four victims during the press conference.
Three dead, one brain-dead, ages 21 through 50.
They Caught A Tampa Rapper With 12 Pounds Of Meth After A Chase
Joshua Puckelwartz, who performs as "Tommi Boy Wayne," fled a traffic stop on Interstate 275 January 28, 2026.
He crashed carrying approximately 12 pounds of methamphetamine.
The gang used rappers and street dealers to distribute bulk product locally.
Michael Wells of Winter Haven allegedly worked drug acquisitions with both Puckelwartz and Jemarion Young.
Steven Jackson of Lakeland supplied fentanyl for the organization – he faces armed trafficking charges and illegal firearm possession as a convicted felon.
Florida's SAFE Grant Funded The Takedown
Governor DeSantis created the State Assistance for Fentanyl Eradication program in 2023.
SAFE investigations have produced 2,127 arrests statewide and seizure of 485 pounds of fentanyl – enough to kill over 100 million people.
Polk County used SAFE funding for the wiretaps, surveillance, and undercover operations.
https://twitter.com/PolkCoSheriff/status/2023765007172071455?s=20
This latest bust involved over 20 agencies: DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Florida Highway Patrol, Department of Corrections, and local police.
Uthmeier made the stakes clear: "This was a highly organized, fentanyl-pushing enterprise operating in Central Florida that had ties all the way to California. We will continue dismantling these organizations from the top down. Anyone who traffics these poisons in Florida will be held accountable and prosecuted to the fullest extent."
Thirty-one defendants are in custody.
One is being extradited from Kansas.
Four remain at large with active warrants.
The gang members face racketeering charges under RICO statutes – the same laws used to prosecute organized crime families.
Judd's final warning: "Traffickers of methamphetamine and fentanyl are literally murdering people and tearing apart families. The men and women who go after these drug dealers are doing a noble, but dangerous job – putting their own lives on the line, to protect their communities from the drug traffickers who are profiting from this destruction."
Sources:
- Anita Padilla, "51 arrested in major fentanyl, meth racketeering case in Polk County; RICO charges filed," Central Florida News, February 13, 2026.
- Jake Jordan, "Major drug trafficking operations in Central Florida result in 51 arrests," WFTV.com, February 16, 2026.
- Joanne Clark, "Florda AG announces 51 arrests, major drug seizures in Central Florida gang probe," CNW Network, February 13, 2026.
- Sophie Pendrill, "51 gang-linked suspects nabbed as 78 lbs. meth, 10 lbs. fentanyl seized," CBS12, February 13, 2026.
- Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, "Financial Trend Analysis Fentanyl-Related Illicit Finance," U.S. Department of Treasury, 2025.
- "Two Charlotte Bloods Gang Members Sentenced To Life In Prison For The Double-murder Of Lake Wylie Couple," U.S. Department of Justice, April 25, 2017.
- "Governor Ron DeSantis Announces SAFE Program Delivers Record Seizures of Fentanyl," Executive Office of the Governor, 2025.
