Operation Rolling Thunder Yields more Than Two Dozen Arrests

Date Added: March 25, 2017 11:20 am

Gary Davidson
Public Information Officer

OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER YIELDS MORE THAN TWO DOZEN ARRESTS

Clarence Collmar picked the wrong day to go out for a spin in a stolen Honda Civic. Dakevian Smith learned a similar lesson when he was speeding down Mason Avenue in Daytona Beach while carrying a loaded gun in the glove compartment. Both ended their evening with a trip to the Volusia County Branch Jail during a two-day crime sweep of the county called Operation Rolling Thunder.

Spearheaded by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office and with nearly every law enforcement agency in the county participating, the operation saturated the east side of the county on Wednesday and then moved to the west side of the county Friday. While teams of officers saturated designated areas of the county and conducted proactive enforcement, detectives roamed around developing information on criminal activity. Once a crime or suspicious activity was observed, officers formed a dragnet to catch the offenders. More than two dozen people were arrested for charges ranging from driving with a suspended license, fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer and carrying a concealed firearm to grand theft of a motor vehicle and possession of marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamines and heroin. Officers also conducted 769 traffic stops and issued 446 traffic citations during the operation.

In Collmar’s case, he was driving around Daytona Beach on Wednesday evening when he passed by a license plate reader that alerted to the fact that the vehicle had been reported stolen the previous day. A deputy got behind the vehicle to confirm the tag number and then a Sheriff’s Office helicopter flying overhead tracked the vehicle’s movements from the sky. When the vehicle got stuck in traffic at the intersection of Mason Avenue and Nova Road, officers saw their opportunity and swiftly moved in to make the arrest. After a marijuana pipe was found in the vehicle, the 41-year-old Collmar (DOB: 12/15/75) was transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach on charges of grand theft of a motor vehicle and possession of drug paraphernalia.

 
Air One Video - Operation Rolling Thunder

Smith, meanwhile, was clocked on Wednesday evening driving 53 mph in a 35 mph zone along Mason Avenue. When he was pulled over, a loaded handgun was found in the glove compartment. The 22-year-old Smith (DOB: 9/20/94) was arrested for carrying a concealed firearm. In yet another arrest, 18-year-old Austin Fitzsimmons (DOB: 2/19/99) fled from a traffic stop, but was eventually pulled over with three small baggies of methamphetamine and a scale in his vehicle along with a bb-gun that closely resembled an actual handgun. He was charged with possession of meth with intent to sell, fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer, driving on a suspended license and possession of drug paraphernalia. Also during the operation, a vehicle stolen from a car lot was recovered.

More operations are planned in the future.