DELAND, FL – Volusia Sheriff’s Detectives executing a narcotics search warrant early this morning at an apartment across the street from DeLand Middle School recovered thousands of pills, cocaine, guns and cash, shut down an active drug sales operation and protected three children who risked exposure to suspected fentanyl not far from their school backpacks.
Arrested was Montrell Brundidge, 35, who detectives believe was selling a variety of drugs out of his home at the Applewood Apartments, 101 E. New Hampshire Ave., DeLand. The 6 a.m. raid followed an ongoing investigation that revealed Brundidge’s operation out of the 600-square-foot apartment where his three kids, ages 9 to 13, also live.
During a search of Brundidge’s apartment and vehicle, detectives found about 3,500 Xanax pills, about 700 MDMA pills and significant amounts of Hydrocodone, Hydrochloride, Oxycontin, Loratab, powder and crack cocaine, about 19 pounds of marijuana, four guns and a little more than $1,300 cash. Detectives also found digital scales and a suspected drug ledger. The raid went off without incident and there were no injuries.
One of the guns, a .223 semi-automatic rifle with three magazines containing a total of 26 rounds, was found under the living-room couch along with a loaded 9mm handgun. Another handgun was found on another couch where the children were sitting, with the fourth gun found in Brundidge’s vehicle.
Statements from the children indicated Brundidge sold drugs from the apartment while they were present, and they’d asked him multiple times to stop. After fentanyl residue was found in the laundry room, the children asked detectives to retrieve their backpacks and clothes from the room so they could go to school. Detectives found their items within about three feet of the table where the powder residue was found.
The children were released to the custody of their grandmother to be taken to school.
Brundidge was charged with trafficking in cocaine, Oxycodone, and MDMA, possession of Alprazolam and cannabis with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school, three counts of child neglect and four counts of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. He was transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail with a total bond of $525,000.
Sheriff Mike Chitwood promised the Sheriff’s Office will continue to take proactive measures against drug dealers in Volusia County and commended the thorough investigation that led to this morning’s arrest.
“This arrest saved lives, and I just hope that today these kids will be able to focus on being kids,” Sheriff Chitwood said. “They should be focusing on school, friends and activities – not worrying about what their drug-dealing dad has in store for them next.”
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