TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – A Leon County school resource deputy and his son are accused of working together to traffick marijuana.
Bill Culpepper Jr., 56, is facing numerous charges relating to conspiring to traffick, sell, cultivate and manufacture items including marijuana and THC concentrate cartridges. He is listed on the Leon County Sheriff’s Office website as a school resource deputy at Woodville PreK-8 School.
Culpepper Jr.‘s 25-year-old son, Garret Culpepper, is charged with trafficking more than 25 pounds of marijuana or 300+ plants and multiple counts of drug possession and manufacturing.
The Leon County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday that Deputy Culpepper is on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. It is unclear when he was placed on leave or if the leave is paid. Leon County Schools declined to comment on the allegations.
Investigators first started looking into the pair after “confidential informants” tipped off the Tallahassee Police Department, saying they had bought both marijuana and THC cartridges from Garret Culpepper, according to court documents.
“The RCI [reliable confidential informant] also stated [Garret] Culpepper’s father was a deputy at the Leon County Sheriff’s Office and [Garret] Culpepper ‘had ways of evading law enforcement,’” the arrest papers said.
The documents, obtained Wednesday by WCTV, go on to say the informant told officers that the younger arrestee believed his father’s employment shielded him during his alleged criminal enterprise.
“[Garret] Culpepper goes by the street name ‘Immune,’” the arrest papers said. “The RCI stated he chose this nickname because Culpepper believes he is immune from arrest or persecution because of his father working in law enforcement.”
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Both Culpepper men were arrested Tuesday after officers raided both of their homes, per arrest papers. When searching the father’s Havana home, officers found materials for a “marijuana grow operation” in his attic. They also uncovered nearly $70,000 in cash stashed in a lock box.
The elder arrestee is also charged with multiple counts of possession of a short-barreled rifle and a machine gun after officers found the weapons while searching his home, per the LCSO website and arrest papers.
At the younger Culpepper’s home in Tallahassee, officers found “over 15 pounds of marijuana and THC concentrate… and over 1,000 filled THC cartridges.” They also discovered a cartridge filling machine worth $35,000, which arrest papers allege was invoiced to Bill Culpepper Jr.‘s home.
Both Culpeppers appeared in court in Leon County early Wednesday.
A judge ordered the father and son to refrain from contacting each other. As part of their bond terms, both will be subject to two drug tests a month. Bill Culpepper Jr. was also ordered to not possess any weapons.
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A Leon County school resource officer and his son are behind bars after being accused of working together to traffick marijuana. Read More
