DeLand, FL - A DeLand City Commissioner initially thought to be a victim of fraud and extortion ends up being on the wrong side of the law.
59-year-old Jeffrey Hunter - who used to work as a water plant operator for the City of DeLand before his election in 2016 to the District 2 seat - was arrested today and charged with one count of selling or delivering hydrocodone. He's being held on $25,000 bond at Volusia County Jail.
Angela Starke - a spokesperson with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement - says it all began when the Volusia County Sheriff's Office asked FDLE in February to look into complaints that Hunter was dealing narcotics.
"Hunter told detectives his former girlfriend and her boyfriend, Jose Santiago, were blackmailing him," Starke said. "During the course of the investigation, agents determined Hunter had given his former girlfriend hydrocodone pills on at least seven separate occasions."
Investigators say Hunter also left several voicemails on his former girlfriend’s phone talking about how many pain pills he had available legally.
Santiago was arrested and charged with extortion, according to Starke.
