LEE COUNTY, FL – Sheriff Carmine Marceno, alongside representatives from the DEA, State Attorney’s Office, and United States Attorney’s Office, announced the formation of the Drug Homicide Investigation Team (DHIT).
This announcement followed a significant narcotics arrest in East District Patrol on State Road 82. During a vehicle stop, deputies arrested Noah Bernthon, 23, after discovering over 100 grams of Fentanyl pills, cocaine, firearms, and various prescription pills in his vehicle.
Subsequent investigations linked Bernthon to a major drug trafficking group operating from a residence on Graystone Avenue in Lehigh Acres.
A search of the residence yielded thousands of Fentanyl and Xanax-type pills, cocaine, methamphetamine, powdered Fentanyl, marijuana, and firearms, including an illegally modified weapon. Additional arrests were made, including 25-year-old Dominic Bernthon, 24-year-old Jacob Rickerman, and 44-year-old Michael Rivera.
The DHIT unit, focusing on drug-induced homicides, is part of Lee County Sheriff’s Office’s intensified efforts to combat the Fentanyl epidemic and increasing drug-related deaths.