MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek says the man his deputies arrested in an undercover drug sting Friday should not have been free to sell drugs in the first place.

Ladevine Davante Trevon Julceus, 32, of West Palm Beach, has 33 felony arrests and 14 felony convictions, according to Budensiek, who said Julceus’ arrests span several Florida counties and Georgia.

“This guy’s been there, done that in the criminal justice world, in a bad way. And he’s still out,” Budensiek said.

According to Martin County Sheriff’s Office arrest reports, an undercover detective arranged a deal by phone with Julceus, who goes by the street name “Ghost,” and bought 26 grams of methamphetamine from him on Sept. 25. Under Florida law, 14 grams or more of meth counts as trafficking.

The same undercover detective ordered cocaine and flakka, a synthetic drug, from Julceus on Oct. 9, the reports say. When Julceus arrived at a gas station near Southeast Bridge Road and Southeast Federal Highway in Hobe Sound that evening, deputies blocked in the car he was riding in. Julceus ran and threw two bags into a bush before he was taken into custody, according to the report. Deputies said the bags held about 7 grams of flakka and more than 14 grams of cocaine.

The driver of the car was also arrested, the report says.

Budensiek said he sent a large team because of Julceus’ violent past.

“We had at least a 15-man element, most of which were SWAT. They came in ready for the worst-case scenario, which would be a violent encounter,” he said.

Julceus faces charges of trafficking in methamphetamine, two counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, two counts of unlawful use of a two-way communication device and resisting arrest without violence. He is being held in the Martin County Jail on $675,000 bond.

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Palm Beach County records reviewed by CBS12 News show West Palm Beach police arrested Julceus in 2015 on burglary and grand theft charges. In July 2023, Palm Beach County deputies charged him in two separate cases of fleeing deputies and driving on a suspended license, both from incidents on the same day. Ten days later, he was accused of biting a deputy inside the Palm Beach County jail.

Budensiek said the problem is not whether prosecutors win convictions but how much time offenders serve.

“I don’t care about your conviction rate. If you can’t keep them in prison and make them do real time, you’re doing no value to the criminal justice system,” he said of state attorneys.

Martin County is part of Florida’s 19th Judicial Circuit. Budensiek said judges and prosecutors in other circuits should look at how cases are handled there, or repeat offenders will keep committing crimes in Martin County. Palm Beach County, where most of the arrests in the records reviewed by CBS12 News took place, is in the 15th Judicial Circuit.

Budensiek said he hopes the new case becomes Julceus’ 15th felony conviction.