75. Daytona Beach father and son charged in drug bust

DAYTONA BEACH -- A father and son were arrested April 17, on multiple drug charges after narcotics agents seized 7 pounds of marijuana and about 102 grams of cocaine from a Daytona Beach home where the father lives.

The East Volusia Narcotics Task Force also seized a firearm, cash, 18 Ecstasy pills and a digital scale during a search of 160 Gala Circle. The contraband was found inside a house where 57-year-old Dennis Kennedy lives. He was the only one home when drug agents arrived with a search warrant, the Sheriff's Office reported.

While Kennedy’s son, 23-year-old Ryan Kennedy, lives at 125 Carnival Drive in Daytona Beach, he also maintained a bedroom at his father’s house. And that’s where investigators found the drugs, Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said, adding, given the amount of drugs and the strong odor they gave off, investigators said the elder Kennedy must have known they were in the house. And that, they say, makes him complicit in the crimes.

Dennis Kennedy was charged with trafficking in cocaine, trafficking in Ecstasy, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. While the raid was going on at 160 Gala Circle, Daytona Beach police served a search warrant at Ryan Kennedy’s house. That resulted in the younger Kennedy being charged with possession of marijuana under 20 grams. However, after Task Force agents interviewed Ryan Kennedy and he admitted knowledge of the drugs in his room at his fathers’ house, he also was charged with trafficking in cocaine, trafficking in Ecstasy, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.