Major meth distributor arrested after multi-agency investigation

WALTON COUNTY – Holmes County SheriffÂ’s Office assisted in a multi-agency investigation that resulted in the confiscation of more than a pound of methamphetamine and the arrest of one of the largest meth distributors to Holmes County and Northwest Florida.

46-year-old Joseph Fletcher Lee was arrested after a search warrant was executed at 364 Mixon Road residence in DeFuniak Springs, as well as an adjacent 10-acre tract the morning of Thursday, October 14. The warrant was the culmination of a five-month long joint investigating by HCSO, Walton County SheriffÂ’s Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and AlabamaÂ’s 22nd Judicial Drug Task Force.

In addition to the pound of methamphetamine, investigators located ammunition, $23,419 in U.S. currency, drug paraphernalia, a camper that had been stolen out of Andalusia, Alabama, and a Ford Mustang stolen out of Santa Rosa Beach.

“This individual was a major meth distributor in Holmes County and Northwest Florida,” said Holmes County Sheriff John Tate. “His arrest means one less avenue for this poison to destroy families in our community.”

Lee, who was wanted in Covington County, Alabama on charges of trafficking methamphetamine, possession of paraphernalia, and carrying a weapon without a permit, is now charged in Florida with trafficking methamphetamine, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, dealing in stolen property, and possession of drug paraphernalia.