For the fourth time since last December, the Problem Oriented Policing (POP) Unit of the Daytona Beach Police Department (DBPD) serves a search warrant on a property after receiving complaints from the public about drugs and other illegal activity taking place at that location.
Officers entered 19 Goodall Avenue around 5:50 a.m. Thursday (March 4, 2021) after the warrant was signed by a Volusia County judge, taking a resident – 46-year-old Christopher M. Dawson – into custody on three felony charges as well as a misdemeanor charge, all drug-related.
Neighborhood Services Division Captain Scott Lee says four different kinds of drugs were found in the home during the raid, including Methamphetamine.
“We’d like to thank those who reached out to us about the activity going on inside this home,” Lee added. “It’s that kind of cooperation from the public that makes it possible for our officers to do these kinds of investigations and help make our streets and neighborhoods safer for everyone.”
Dawson’s felony charges include possession of methamphetamine, possession of a Schedule III substance and possession of a Schedule IV substance. He’s also charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.
The property has been marketed on Airbnb in the past even though it’s in an area of Daytona Beach where short-term rentals are not allowed.
Officers who entered the home during the raid found that the condition of the home was much poorer than what the Airbnb listing indicated, per Lee.
“Houses like these are why we are proactive in conducting investigations into short-term rentals in our community,” Lee added. “Tourists looking to have fun at the World’s Most Famous Beach shouldn’t have to put up with this.”
Two guests found inside the home at the time of the raid were later released without charges.
This is the second beachside home this year where the POP Unit executed a search warrant. Four people were arrested in January at 612 Ribault Avenue.
POP officers have also served similar warrants recently at two motels in Daytona Beach: the Sun Plaza on U.S. 1 and the Camellia on State Road A1A.