FORT PIERCE — St. Lucie County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 503 people this summer, seizing about $92,000 in cash, cars, drugs and guns during stepped-up patrols in some of the city’s most crime-ridden areas.

Deputies, who seized 10 guns and three cars during the operation, arrested people on 556 total charges. Of those, about 155, or 28 percent, were felony charges.

“The results were pretty outstanding,” Sheriff Ken Mascara said of the operation.

This is the ninth year that the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s office has increased patrols in the city during the summer months. The Fort Pierce Police Department usually participates in the effort, but couldn’t this year due to reductions in its police force, he said.

The summer operation evolved from the philosophy that “street-level crime (in Fort Pierce) affects crime throughout the entire county,” Mascara said.

“We wanted to target street-level dealers and vice,” he said.

About 15 deputies worked mostly at night during the two-month operation, patrolling Tuesday to Saturday in some of the worst parts of Fort Pierce. Between June 11 and August 23, deputies charged people with 155 felonies and 339 misdemeanors. They issued about 455 traffic citations; of those, 143, or about 31 percent, were criminal citations such as drunken driving or reckless driving.

They also gave out 992 written warnings, according to the sheriff’s office.

Deputies seized 5.5 ounces of powder cocaine, 225.9 grams of crack, 1,1198.6 grams of marijuana and 927 prescription pills — all told, about $44,000 in drugs.

Mascara said the patrols reduced crime in the city by taking guns and drugs off the streets. He noted the city had eight shootings over the summer.

“I believe that number would have been higher if we hadn’t taken 10 guns off the street,” he said.

Tags: Crime, Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County

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