{"id":278327,"date":"2026-05-20T17:23:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T17:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/278327\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T17:23:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T17:23:09","slug":"fort-pierce-crackdown-nets-3-arrests-4-guns-and-pot-stash-in-1st-day-of-summer-crime-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/278327\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Pierce crackdown nets 3 arrests, 4 guns and pot stash in 1st day of summer crime push"},"content":{"rendered":"

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 A new multi-agency effort to crack down on violent crime in St. Lucie County<\/a> is already showing results after its first day.<\/p>\n

The St. Lucie County Sheriff\u2019s Office<\/a> announced on Wednesday that its investigators, along with the Fort Pierce Police Department<\/a>, the FBI, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, teamed up for \u201cOperation Summer Heat,\u201d targeting gang activity, illegal guns, and drug crimes.<\/p>\n

Deputies said they made their first arrests during a traffic stop in Fort Pierce<\/a>. Artevin Avonte Joseph, 20, was charged after deputies found about 85 grams of marijuana. <\/p>\n

\"{p}Authorities<\/p>\n

Authorities say a new crime suppression effort in St. Lucie County quickly led to arrests, illegal guns taken off the street and a drug seizure on day one. (SLCSO) <\/p>\n

Jeremiah Jerome Joseph, 25, was arrested on weapons charges, including possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Investigators said the recovered Glock .45 handgun had an illegal \u201cswitch\u201d that allows it to fire like a machine gun.<\/p>\n

\"{p}Law<\/p>\n

Law enforcement agencies teamed up for Operation Summer Heat, which produced arrests, seized drugs and removed several illegal firearms from the community in its first day. (SLCSO) <\/p>\n

In another stop, Alphonzo Hurst, 26, of Port St. Lucie<\/a>, was arrested on outstanding warrants for battery and trespassing.<\/p>\n

\"Operation<\/p>\n

Operation Summer Heat resulted in multiple arrests, the recovery of three firearms and the seizure of 85 grams of marijuana during its opening day in Fort Pierce. (SLCSO)<\/p>\n

Later in the day, detectives chased down a 16-year-old who ran while carrying a handgun. Deputies said the teen was taken into custody, and a .357 caliber firearm was recovered.<\/p>\n

As the investigation continued in that area, officers also found an AR-15-style pistol with altered serial numbers at a nearby gathering spot.<\/p>\n

See also: ‘Paper dope’ pipeline: 25+ overdoses tied to alleged staff-inmate drug ring at PBC jail<\/a><\/p>\n

In total, the first day of “Operation Summer Heat” resulted in three adult arrests, one juvenile arrest, three firearms recovered, and 85 grams of marijuana <\/a>seized.<\/p>\n

Officials say the operation will continue throughout the summer as part of ongoing efforts to remove illegal weapons and reduce crime in the community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 A new multi-agency effort to crack down on violent crime in St. Lucie…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":278328,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172],"class_list":["post-278327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}