FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Drug dealing cost Chipley men a motel

Sagar Patel and Jayanti Patel lost more than their civil rights when they entered pleas to drug charges in Washington County Circuit Court. They gave up their motel.

Sagar Patel entered pleas to 11 felony counts, related to sale of cocaine and pseudoephedrine(one of the main ingredients of methamphetamine) while Jayanti Patel pled to five counts. Both were adjudicated guilty and Jayanti Patel was placed on probation. Sagar Patel will be sentenced at a later date. He will be treated as a youthful offender.

A joint investigation involving officers from the Chipley Police Department, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, the State Attorney’s Office, the Panama City Beach Police Department, and the Florida Department of Insurance--Fraud

Division, built a case that the Patels were using the Chipley Motel as a place to deal the drugs. Information was developed that the pair were moving dozens of boxes of pseudoephedrine monthly.

Part of the plea agreement included the requirement that the Patels hand over possession and ownership of the Chipley Motel, valued at over $500,000.00, to the City of Chipley and to pay $15,885 to the various agencies for the cost of investigation. The $500,000.00 will benefit the citizens of Chipley, Florida.

State Attorney Steve Meadows praised the cooperative effort and spoke of the message that might be sent:

“I hope that this will be a warning to others who might think that the risk of punishment is not so great. We hit these men in the wallet. These agencies have effectively put the Patels out of the narcotics business and have put a serious dent in their abilities to deal drugs again.”