For the second time in a year, the Daytona Beach Police Department (DBPD) raids a beachside motel after investigators obtained a narcotics search warrant signed by a Volusia County judge, taking two people into custody.
36-year-old Anthony M. Mascaro and 37-year-old Jennifer E. Tessier now face felony charges of drug trafficking following that early-morning raid yesterday (September 2, 2021) at the Camellia Motel (1055 North Atlantic Avenue).
Like in the raid last December at the Camellia, members of DBPD’s Problem Oriented Policing (POP) Unit stepped up in response to more complaints about drug sales taking place on the property, according to DBPD Captain Scott Lee.
“We took seven people into custody the last time, including the property manager,” Lee noted. “Now we’ve got two more drug dealers living in one of the motel rooms peddling this poison. If the motel owner refuses to do what’s right, then we’re going to keep doing these raids until this is solved for good.”
The POP Unit found 64.8 grams of meth and 4.4 grams of fentanyl in the motel room which Mascaro had been renting out for around a month. Also found in the motel room’s refrigerator was over 60 grams of testosterone propionate, an anabolic steroid used mainly for boosting testosterone levels.
Officers also discovered a loaded Taurus .357 revolver and various items used for packaging and selling drugs, including several digital scales.
Mascaro has been charged with four felonies, including trafficking in methamphetamine and fentanyl, keeping a public nuisance structure for drug activity and possession of a Schedule III substance. He’s also facing a misdemeanor charge of drug paraphernalia possession.
Tessier is facing the same misdemeanor charge as Mascaro along with three felony charges of armed trafficking in methamphetamine and fentanyl and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Tessier is also facing a probation violation stemming from an unrelated drug case handled by the Port Orange Police Department last June. Prior to that, she was out on bond for an unrelated vehicle burglary case handled by the DeLand Police Department last May.
This is the tenth such raid conducted by the POP Unit since last December, including one earlier this week at an apartment on North Street where one arrest was made.
16 people in total were charged following separate raids last month at a home on South Peninsula Drive and a home on Braddock Avenue, a home on Live Oak Avenue last April, a home on Goodall Avenue last March and a home on Ribault Avenue last January. 15 people in total were charged in the two raids at the Best Southern Sun Plaza Motel and the December raid at the Camellia.
Anyone who would like to report similar issues can contact DBPD POP Unit Sergeant Kevin Connelly at ConnellyKevin@DBPD.us or (386) 671-5162.