POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A Tampa attorney, who is also a former police officer, is one of three men arrested on drug trafficking charges this week.
Detectives with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking task force arrested 66-year-old Robert Carr on Thursday along with 37-year-old Brandon Byars and 24-year-old Logan Sebring.
Carr served the Tampa Police Department for five years, according to deputies. He is now an attorney who owns the Resolute Law Group. Investigators say Carr is representing Sebring in a previous criminal case.
Detectives say they began investigating Byars after becoming aware of possible drug trafficking. When an undercover detective arranged to meet him for a transaction, Byars said he would be coming with his supplier who needed to see the money first. According to the affidavit, the transaction was for one to four kilos of cocaine at $25,000 a kilo.
Before the transaction, authorities say the three suspects were seen in the parking lot of a restaurant in North Lakeland. Byars was spotted in a Ford F-150 while Carr drove a Kia Optima with Sebring as his passenger. According to deputies, all three men were looking into the trunk of the Kia before they left to go to another nearby parking lot for the transaction.
The affidavit states the undercover detective then met the three men and was given a backpack with cocaine. Deputies say they recovered a total of 998.41 grams of cocaine.
All three men were arrested and are now facing several felony charges.
“It doesn’t matter what walk of life you come from – if you come into Polk County with the intent to sell drugs, you’re likely going to end up staying in Polk County as our guest in the jail,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. “It doesn’t matter if you’re an attorney, a former cop, or in this case — both, we’re going to lock you up.”