By the time the cops came knocking in December, Roy McCoy Cone had developed a toxic regimen, his wife told Gainesville Police.
Roy McCoy Cone
Several times a week, in a home he shared with three children, 43-year-old Cone cooked methamphetamine, according to a police report.
Inside the home, located in the 400 block of Southwest Second Street, dirty clothing filled a hallway and molded-over food occupied a refrigerator, according to the report.
Outside, in a trash can, empty cold pack packaging, Mountain Dew bottles and boxes of pseudoephedrine served as tell-tale signs of Cone’s past, according to the report.
Cone was arrested Tuesday following a Dec. 16 raid on his home. He faces charges of child abuse, using a home for drug trafficking, manufacturing of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and unlawful possession of a listed chemical.
After contacting UF’s Child Protection Team, police learned one of Cone’s children, who was 7 years old, only weighed about as much as a 4-year-old. The children exhibited likely signs of substance abuse, physical abuse and neglect, according to the report.
Alachua County’s Environmental Protection Department told law enforcement the home was hazardous. Police learned from Gainesville Regional Utilities that electricity in the home was turned off for two months because of nonpayment.
Authorities took him to the Alachua County Jail, where he remains as of press time in lieu of a $30,500 bond.
@merylkornfield
mkornfield@alligator.org
