Flagler's Operation Loose Lips Ends With Prison for Palm Coast Brothers; Cocaine Hidden in Air Fryer and Vacuum

Two Palm Coast brothers whom Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly described as the leaders of a local cocaine trafficking organization are headed to prison after pleading no contest, the sheriff announced Friday, Nov. 6. Claude "Lips" Harris, 38, was sentenced Oct. 28 to 14.5 years in prison for trafficking in cocaine and money laundering, and his brother John Harris, 36, received 3.5 years for sale or possession of cocaine.

Staly laid out the results of the multi-agency case, dubbed Operation Loose Lips after Claude Harris's street name, at a news conference in Bunnell, where deputies displayed designer handbags, shoes, clothing and jewelry seized from the organization. Investigators recovered nearly 1.5 kilograms of cocaine, $100,969 in cash, five firearms and eight vehicles, and Staly said some of the drugs had been hidden inside a vacuum cleaner and an air fryer.

The sentences

Both brothers resolved their cases with no contest pleas, according to News4JAX and WKMG News 6:

Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols sentenced Claude Harris on Oct. 28, News4JAX reported. Reports did not name the judge in John Harris's case. Under the plea agreements, all of the assets seized in the investigation were forfeited.

A years-long target

The sheriff's office said detectives had investigated the Harris brothers off and on for about 15 years. The case that finally reached them was led by the Flagler County Sheriff's Office Special Investigations Unit and the FBI, with help from the ATF, Homeland Security Investigations, and the St. Johns County and Volusia County sheriff's offices.

Staly took aim at the gap between the brothers' spending and Claude Harris's reported income. Harris had claimed to earn about $60,000 a year as a dump truck driver, the sheriff said. "That's pretty good for someone that claimed he was only making $60,000 a year as a dump truck driver," Staly said, according to News4JAX, as he pointed to the luxury goods and vehicles.

The sheriff said drug traffickers should know that his agency will pursue them, dismantle their organizations and hold them accountable.

How the case unfolded in June

The operation came to a head over six days in June, according to the sheriff's office timeline reported by News4JAX:

After the June 6 search, Claude Harris was charged with trafficking in more than 200 grams of cocaine, trafficking in 28 to under 200 grams, sale or possession of cocaine with intent to sell within 1,000 feet of a school or park, unlawful use of a two-way communications device and possession of drug paraphernalia. The June 22 charges added sale of cocaine, money laundering, another trafficking count, unlawfully owning or renting property for drug trafficking and another two-way communications device count. He ultimately pleaded to trafficking and money laundering.

John Harris was arrested Sept. 2 after detectives saw a transaction at a Palm Coast residence, News4JAX reported, and was also charged with violating probation.

What deputies seized

The haul displayed at the news conference included:

• Nearly 1.5 kilograms of cocaine, with an estimated street value of $150,000, according to WKMG.
• $100,969 in cash.
• Five firearms.
• Eight vehicles, among them a 2022 Mercedes-Benz Maybach S580, a 2021 Porsche Panamera, a 2015 Ford F-250 Platinum, a 2022 Dodge Ram 3500 Longhorn, a 2020 Cadillac CT-4, a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado and a customized 1984 Chevrolet El Camino.
• Hundreds of designer shoes, handbags and pieces of clothing and dozens of pieces of jewelry, including Rolex watches, valued at more than $100,000.

Staly said the designer goods were used to launder drug money. He said the drugs were found "inside a vacuum cleaner and an air fryer, among other unique hiding places," according to News4JAX.

The nurse accused of keeping a stash house

Investigators also identified Aleah Fagan, 31, of Palm Coast, Claude Harris's girlfriend, as a top-level member of the organization. She is accused of maintaining a stash house for the group.

During the June 10 search of the Angela Drive home, detectives found prescription medications, including a vial of fentanyl citrate and two vials of morphine, along with plastic bags and a digital scale with cocaine residue, according to the sheriff's office. Fagan was arrested on three counts of possessing a controlled substance without a prescription, possession of a harmful new legend drug without a prescription and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was released on $6,400 bond, and her case remains pending.

Fagan worked as a nurse at Halifax Health in Daytona Beach, according to the sheriff's office. Detectives are investigating whether she used that position to divert medications, with help from the Volusia Bureau of Investigation. She has not been convicted of any crime.

Prior records

The sheriff's office said both brothers had prior criminal histories. John Harris's record includes lewd and lascivious battery, battery, sale of cocaine, robbery with a firearm, burglary with a firearm, violation of probation and marijuana possession, according to News4JAX. Claude Harris's record includes domestic battery, criminal mischief over $200 and driving with a suspended license.

What's next: an auction of drug money goods

Rather than donating the seized vehicles, jewelry and designer goods, the sheriff's office plans to auction them on GovDeals.com, WKMG reported, with some proceeds going to community programs such as Shop with a Cop. Staly said he believed an auction was a better way to handle the property and joked that residents could own a piece of Flagler County drug history.

The brothers will serve their sentences in state prison with credit for the time they have already spent in jail. Fagan's case continues in Flagler County court while detectives finish the medication diversion inquiry.