Key Largo arrest uncovers drugs, gun and $30,000 cash

Monroe County sheriff’s deputies said a Key Largo arrest turned up a trafficking-sized stash of drugs, a handgun and a large amount of cash at a Jenny Lane residence, deepening concerns about gun and narcotics activity in the Upper Keys.

Raheim Christopher Lee Whitney, 29, was taken into custody Thursday, May 22, after investigators said they found more than 6 pounds of marijuana, a Glock pistol, 55 rounds of ammunition and about $30,000 in cash they believe was tied to drug sales. He was charged with possession of marijuana, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and possession of drug paraphernalia. Deputies also booked him on an outstanding warrant tied to cocaine sales.

The arrest fits a law-enforcement pattern that routinely plays out along U.S. 1, the only highway through the Florida Keys. Monroe County sheriff’s officials say their agency provides service across the island chain, which stretches roughly 112 miles from the mainland south to Key West. In that setting, deputies often deal with a mix of traffic, tourism and transient activity that can complicate narcotics enforcement, especially in the Upper Keys.

Whitney’s case also carried a longer criminal history. He had previously been charged in a 2017 robbery case in Tavernier involving the Dairy Queen, where court records identified charges of robbery with a firearm, kidnapping and burglary while armed. Another suspect in that case was identified as Samuel James Murray.

The Jenny Lane arrest did not stand alone. Deputies also made a separate drug arrest involving 25-year-old John Tyler Roberts of Coconut Creek after a trespassing call on Stock Island’s 6800 block of Shrimp Road. In that case, deputies said they found about 250.5 grams of marijuana, 17 clonazepam pills and an electronic scale. Roberts also had a prior Monroe County arrest for failure to register as a convicted criminal, and his Broward County history included fentanyl possession, cocaine possession, grand theft, burglary and resisting arrest.

Together, the two cases underscored an active enforcement week for Monroe County deputies, with the Whitney arrest placing drugs, a gun and cash at the center of a Key Largo investigation and reinforcing the sheriff’s focus on repeat offenders and suspected distribution activity in the Upper Keys. The county directs the public to the Upper Keys Substation at the Roth Building in Tavernier, within the District 7 patrol area that covers the region.