A Moncrief Road convenience store that Jacksonville police say had quietly become a hub for drug deals is now linked to a shut-down drug business, after detectives arrested four people and seized fentanyl, crack cocaine, marijuana, a handgun, and more than $3,000 in cash. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said the bust followed a year-long investigation into the Price Rite Food Store, sparked by mounting complaints from neighbors who had grown tired of watching suspicious activity play out in their own front yards.
“This whole year, our Narcotics Unit detectives have been investigating drug activity at the Price Rite Food Store on Moncrief Road,” the Jax Sheriff's Office
said, adding that the effort began after the department received many complaints from residents in the area. In a message posted alongside the announcement, the agency framed the raid in stark terms: “When poison is being pushed into our streets, we won't stop until it's out of our community.”
Detectives eventually obtained and served a search warrant on the business, according to the sheriff's office, which said the operation ultimately shut down the drug business running out of the store. Investigators identified what they described as the main dealers and a store clerk as responsible for the activity, though the department did not detail how each person's specific role was determined.
Who Was Arrested
Four people were arrested in connection with the investigation: 51-year-old Vanness Pryor, 26-year-old Breon Rooker, 34-year-old Tyqess Johnson, and 58-year-old Walid Makhlouf, per the sheriff's office. Specific charges, bond amounts, and court dates for any of the four were not detailed in the sheriff's office announcement.
What Detectives Say They Found
Investigators reported seizing 16.5 grams of crack cocaine, 1.8 grams of fentanyl, and 6.6 grams of marijuana during the operation. Also recovered were one handgun and more than $3,000 in cash, the sheriff's office said, though it did not specify where each item was found inside or around the store.
A Multi-Agency Push
The Narcotics Unit did not act alone. The sheriff's office said it partnered with the local fire marshal, the Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, and code enforcement as part of the effort to dismantle the operation, an approach that suggests the store itself, not just individual sellers, was under scrutiny. The sheriff's office did not say whether the business's licensing or code status was affected, or whether the store remains open.
For residents who spent much of the year watching the situation unfold on Moncrief Road, the sheriff's office is asking that any further tips be routed through official channels. The department listed 904-630-0500 as its non-emergency line and [email protected] as an email address for reporting suspected drug activity elsewhere in the city.
The Florida Department of Health also maintains a statewide substance-use dashboard that compiles maps and indicator data on a quarterly and annual basis, according to the Florida Department of Health, though no local figures tied specifically to the Moncrief Road case were made available.
