May 8, 2020

WALTON COUNTY, FL – Three pounds of methamphetamine with a street value of more than $25,000 are seized following a drug investigation by the Walton County Sheriff’s Office VICE Narcotics Unit.

The investigation was the result of a traffic stop on U.S. Highway 331 in Paxton. WCSO K9 Jester responded to the scene and alerted to the presence of illegal narcotics inside the vehicle. A search revealed 1,400 grams of methamphetamine and $25,149 in cash.

The driver, James Franklin Young, 56, and the passenger, Shelley Elizabeth Johnson, 43, were arrested and booked into the Walton County Jail.

Following their arrest, two search warrants were conducted by VICE Narcotics Investigators at Johnson’s residence at 680 Mallet Bayou Road in Freeport, and Young’s residence at 1390 Sexton Road in DeFuniak Springs.

Additional narcotics including 23 grams of fentanyl, six ounces of cocaine, heroin, and Xanax were located. In addition, $2,523 in U.S. currency, four firearms, and five vehicles were seized following the execution of the search warrants.

Johnson is charged with trafficking in meth, trafficking in fentanyl, possession of cocaine, possession of heroin, and possession of Alprazolam.

Young is charged with trafficking in meth, trafficking in cocaine, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

“These arrests are the result of our continued commitment to getting dealers who prey on our citizens behind bars,” said Sheriff Michael Adkinson. “This was a fantastic effort by our patrol deputies and VICE Narcotics to these dangerous drugs off the street.”