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Lee agents score big

• To date, Lee County Investigators say they have seized more than $196,000 in cash and items that they believe to be bought with drug money.

J.D. Sumner

LEESBURG — Investigators say more than $60,000 worth of never-worn, designer clothing is further evidence that Bobby Lee Williams — a man they claim had no listed means of income — was a high-level drug dealer operating in Lee County.

Wednesday, Lee County drug agents, GBI narcotics agents and members of a federal drug task force served a search and seizure warrant on a commercial storage building in Dougherty County, Col. Duane Sapp of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said.

“I would call this a significant arrest,” Sapp said. “This makes a statement that if you use drug money in Lee County we’re going to get your stuff.”

Confiscated were 101 hats, 66 pairs of shoes, 10 jackets and coats and 94 shirts, many with the price tags still on the items.

Williams was originally arrested Dec. 20 by drug agents after information suggested that he may be involved in distributing marijuana. When the warrants were served, investigators found more than 57 pounds of marijuana, Sapp said.

He was arrested again Feb. 20 when police found marijuana in his possession. During that raid, authorities seized three pieces of jewelry valued at more than $90,000 and $12,000 in cash, prosecutors said.

Using confiscated jeans as an example, Sapp explained the logic behind seizing the clothes.

“Some of these jeans are priced at $200 a pair,” he said. “Mr. Williams last worked three years ago as a barber. Tell me, how can a barber afford a stack of $200 jeans? For us, this just bolsters the case that he was living an extravagant lifestyle paid for by selling drugs.”

But outside of the evidentiary value of the clothes, Sapp admits that the $196,000 worth of items they’ve seized from Williams to date will also help fund Lee County’s modest narcotics unit.

“These seizures help keep us fighting the war on drugs,” he said. “This keeps taxpayers and the county commissioners from having to fund this part of the department.”

The seizure comes after Williams was ordered to be detained on Feb. 26 until his trial in U.S. District Court by federal Magistrate Richard Hodge.

“It’s clear that dealing drugs is considered by both Congress and the courts of the nation as a threat to the community,” Hodge said to Williams during his pre-trial detention hearing.

Hodges said he based his decision on evidence presented by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which included financial affidavits showing that the unemployed Williams somehow managed to make monthly $1,300 payments on a $170,000 mortgage.

At that same hearing, Williams entered a not-guilty plea to drug trafficking charges. His trial was originally scheduled to come before the court during the April trial term, but Williams’ attorney Terry Marlowe, asked for a continuance, court officials said.

Investigators say they have seized three vehicles, $90,000 worth of jewelry and more than $46,000 in cash during their investigation.

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