James Arthur Green returned to a dead customer’s home to deliver fentanyl, unaware that St. Lucie County sheriff’s detectives were using the deceased person’s cellphone to arrange the purchase, according to the sheriff’s office. Green, 43, of Miami, also sent a photograph showing where he had left the drugs.
Later that day, Green struck an unmarked detective vehicle while fleeing another undercover drug transaction, police said. He drove onto Interstate 95, reaching approximately 115 mph as deputies pursued him south toward Martin County.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers deployed stop sticks before one of them performed a PIT maneuver near Kanner Highway, bringing Green’s vehicle to a stop.
The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office announced Green’s October 13 arrest following a weeks-long narcotics investigation involving fentanyl, methamphetamine, and crack cocaine. Detectives had also identified him as the suspected supplier of fentanyl to a person who subsequently died from an overdose.
A Customer Who Could No Longer Answer
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Detectives with the sheriff’s Special Investigations Division had been making undercover drug purchases as part of a weeks-long investigation when they developed evidence connecting Green to a fatal fentanyl overdose.
On October 13, they used the deceased customer’s cellphone to place another fentanyl order. Green returned to the person’s residence, delivered approximately two grams of fentanyl, and sent a photograph showing where he had left the drugs, the sheriff’s office said.
The delivery was one of two controlled narcotics transactions investigators arranged that day. During a separate operation, Green participated in a transaction involving approximately two ounces of fentanyl and one pound of methamphetamine.
As detectives moved in to arrest him, Green struck an unmarked sheriff’s vehicle and fled, beginning a pursuit that would draw in two additional law enforcement agencies.
A High-Speed Run South
Green entered southbound Interstate 95, accelerating to approximately 115 mph. During the pursuit, deputies saw him throwing suspected narcotics and a cellphone from his vehicle, according to the sheriff’s office.
As the chase continued into Martin County, the Florida Highway Patrol’s Palm Beach contingent and the Martin County Sheriff’s Office joined St. Lucie County deputies.
FHP deployed stop sticks in an effort to disable Green’s vehicle. Near Kanner Highway, a trooper performed a precision immobilization technique, commonly called a PIT maneuver, using the patrol vehicle to redirect Green’s vehicle and bring the pursuit to an end.
With Green in custody, the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team executed a search warrant at his residence.
The sheriff’s office reported recovering approximately one pound of methamphetamine and two ounces of fentanyl associated with the larger controlled purchase. Additional narcotics recovered during the October 13 investigation included 22 grams of methamphetamine, two grams of crack cocaine, and one gram of fentanyl.
Two Agencies, More Charges
The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office announced charges of trafficking in fentanyl, trafficking in cocaine, four counts of trafficking in methamphetamine, sale of cocaine, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
Florida Highway Patrol filed additional charges stemming from the pursuit, including two counts of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, fentanyl trafficking, methamphetamine trafficking, two counts of fleeing and eluding, tampering with evidence, reckless driving, dangerous speeding over 100 mph, and resisting an officer without violence.
Green was booked into the St. Lucie County Jail at 1:33 a.m. on October 14. His booking record lists 10 pending FHP charges with a combined bond amount of $440,000.
The sheriff’s office described Green as being held without bond. Although the jail record assigns monetary bond amounts to the FHP charges, those figures do not establish whether he is eligible for release while other charges or holds remain in effect.
Green was also out on bond in connection with unrelated charges in Miami-Dade County when detectives arrested him, according to the sheriff’s office.
The Investigation
The fatal overdose investigation remains active, with detectives examining Green’s suspected role in supplying the fentanyl involved in the death.
Sheriff Richard Del Toro said his office would continue pursuing people suspected of supplying drugs linked to fatal overdoses.
“An overdose death does not end our investigation. For those responsible for supplying deadly narcotics, it may be the beginning of an even more serious one.”
Del Toro also warned people selling fentanyl and other illegal drugs in St. Lucie County that they would face the combined efforts of local, state, and federal law enforcement.
“If you choose to bring this poison into St. Lucie County, understand this, you will have the full weight of the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office and our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners coming after you.”
The investigation involved the sheriff’s Special Investigations and Criminal Investigations divisions, SWAT team, patrol deputies, Martin County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Highway Patrol, and Drug Enforcement Administration.
All parties are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.