Zammuto taken into custody after search warrant executed at residence
A 35-year-old Osprey man has been charged with five felony counts related to possession and intent to sell controlled substances, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office has reported.
Tyler R. Zammuto, of 462 Washington Ave. in Osprey, was arrested on Oct. 1 at the intersection of Bay Street and Washington Avenue in Osprey, his Probable Cause Affidavit says. On Oct. 2, his jail booking record shows, he was released on a total of $12,500 in bond.
His arraignment has been scheduled for Oct. 31, the booking record notes.
On Oct. 1, the Sheriff’s Office explained in a news release, the agency’s Special Investigations Section (SIS) obtained a search warrant for Zammuto’s home. The SCSO Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) with the assistance of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Team (UAS), the Tactical Unit (TAC), the Fugitive Apprehension Unit (FAU), and the Narcotics Enforcement Team (NET), executed the search warrant, the release added.
During the search, Zammuto was a passenger in a vehicle that “drove by the residence and quickly accelerated away,” the release continued; the driver committed “multiple traffic violations” in the process.
When TAC and NET deputies conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle, the release said, K9 Gunnar provided a positive alert, which “yielded a small amount of rock cocaine” from the interior.
“Zammuto was placed under arrest for Possession of Cocaine and transported back to his residence,” the release added.
The Probable Cause Affidavit for the vehicle stop explained that Gunnar has been trained in the detection of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and MDMA, which also is known as Ecstasy. Gunnar last was certified in July, the affidavit noted.
“During a search of the home,” the release continued, detectives located numerous different amounts of illegal controlled substances along with paraphernalia consistent with the intent to sell.”
Zammuto was charged with one count of Possession of Cocaine, one count of Possession of Methamphetamine, one count of Possession with Intent to Sell the controlled substance buprenorphine, one count of Possession with Intent to Sell the controlled substance alprazolam (Xanax is its brand name, Wikipedia says), and one count of Possession with Intent to Sell the controlled substance clonazepam, the release said.
A common brand name for clonazepam, Wikipedia notes, is Klonopin. It is “used to prevent and treat anxiety disorders, seizures, bipolar mania, agitation associated with psychosis, and obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), among other conditions, Wikipedia explains.
Buprenorphine, “sold under the brand name Subutex among others, is an opioid used to treat opioid use disorder, acute pain, and chronic pain,” Wikipedia points out.
The Sheriff’s Office had received “multiple complaints and tips” about drug sales occurring at Zammuto’s residence, the news release noted. The Probable Cause Affidavit related to the home search said that, on Oct. 1, the Sheriff’s Office received information that the house “was believed to contain large quantities of Methamphetamine and Fentanyl, [including] evidence relating to the sale, trafficking or possession of narcotics.”
Sheriff’s Office personnel also were told that Zammuto “would sell narcotics from the residence,” the affidavit said.
After Zammuto was read his Miranda Warning, the affidavit continued, he told deputies that “he smokes Marijuana and occasionally uses Methamphetamine.” He added that he was the sole occupant of the Washington Avenue residence, it noted.
Zammuto “was adamant that he did not sell narcotics,” the affidavit pointed out. When Sheriff’s Office personnel asked him about “the various narcotics” located inside the residence,” the affidavit continued, he “stated [they] belonged to him and repeated that he was the sole occupant of the residence.”
After he was transported to the Sheriff’s Office Headquarters on Cattleridge Boulevard in Sarasota, the affidavit added, Zammuto maintained that he did not sell drugs “and that he did not intend to incriminate himself. Zammuto advised that he had a roommate as recent as a week ago but advised that has not been sleeping at the house.”
The investigation is ongoing, the release pointed out.
“We are committed to keeping our community safe and we will continue working tirelessly to protect it,” Sheriff Kurt A. Hoffman said. In the release. “This was truly a collaborative effort and an outstanding job by all involved.”
A Sarasota News Leader check of the records maintained by Karen Rushing, Sarasota County clerk of the Circuit Court and county comptroller, and her staff found no other 12th Judicial Circuit Court charges against Zammuto in Sarasota County.
Checks of the Manatee County and Charlotte County clerks of court websites also did not find any results for Zammuto.