Key Largo property owner arrested in drug house investigation
A Key Largo landlord was arrested after deputies said rooms were rented to drug dealers and users for about three years. Two men were also charged in the case.
A 72-year-old Key Largo property owner, Sherry Lee Sears, was arrested Friday after a multi-year investigation into alleged drug activity at her property, where deputies said rooms were knowingly rented to drug dealers and users for about three years.
Sears was charged with owning or renting a structure or vehicle while aware drugs were being sold there, a charge that puts the focus on the property itself as part of the alleged operation. The case also named two other men: Sonnie Harris, 45, who was charged with possession of cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia, and Clement Pla, 56, who was charged with possession of cocaine and related drug offenses.
The arrest points to a familiar local problem in the Lower Keys, where drug cases often spill into everyday housing and rental properties. When rooms are used to support drug dealing or repeated drug use, neighbors and other tenants can be forced to live around traffic, visits and activity tied to criminal enforcement rather than normal residential use. In this case, authorities said the illegal activity continued long enough to become part of a broader, multi-year probe.
The Sears arrest also adds to a string of drug enforcement cases in Key Largo and Monroe County. On April 7, 2024, Monroe County Sheriff's Office deputies stopped a Homestead man in Key Largo and found pills and cocaine, and a 2023 Key Largo case brought three arrests in a large fraud and drug case. Together, the cases show how narcotics enforcement in the Florida Keys has repeatedly centered on small communities where a single property, vehicle stop or rental arrangement can expose a wider network of activity.
For Monroe County residents, the Sears case is a reminder that drug cases are not always confined to street corners or transient traffic. In Key Largo, investigators said the alleged operation was tied directly to housing, raising questions about how long the activity went on and how many people came through the property before deputies moved in.
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