Three arrested in Gadsden County; illegal guns, drugs reportedly seized

FLORIDA – The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) said has arrested three in Gadsden County and seized illegal guns and drugs in connection with the arrests.

The FDLE said its agents, assisted by law enforcement officers with the Quincy Police Department (QPD), the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), arrested Trenika Lashawn Ward, 45, Jeremy Jerod Byrd, 27, and Marcus Coster Jr., 19, all of Quincy.

According to the FDLE, Ward is charged with one count of a felon in possession of a firearm. Byrd is charged with one count of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Coster is charged with one count of violation of pretrial release conditions, one count of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony from an arrest earlier this month, the FDLE said.

The case began in February 2023, when FDLE, QPD, FHP, and ATF launched a joint investigation into a group of individuals allegedly involved in illegal narcotics and firearms violations. On March 8, Coster was arrested during a traffic stop, which reportedly resulted in the seizure of a pound of marijuana and two firearms.

On March 31, FDLE agents, QPD officers, FHP troopers, and investigators with Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution served a search warrant on a residence in Quincy. Inside the residence, agents said they located six more firearms – including two AR-15 semi-automatic pistols – as well as four ounces of marijuana and several grams of suspected heroin.

The investigation is ongoing, and additional charges are possible. Ward, Byrd, and Coster were booked into the Gadsden County Jail. The case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.