JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Thirty-three-year-old Daniel Ciciora was arrested Thursday as he left his home to take his kids to school. Police seized several drugs and weapons from his home on Camelia Street in Atlantic Beach.
This incident was one of many drug raids that have taken place in the community just this past year.
Tommy Strapp, 23, was a suspect in one of those raids. He said he knows Ciciora well since they live around the corner for each other. He said Ciciora is a great family man and not addicted to drugs.
Strapp knows the situation all too well. On July 27, 2017, he was caught with heroin and arrested at Atlantic Tattoo Supply. He was in jail for one month after being charged with several counts related to narcotics and property damage, but now he said he's reformed his ways.
He insists Ciciora is a good father and husband despite the drug raid.
"Daniel Ciciora is a good man, a good family man, just got into some trouble," Strapp said. "He is not a druggie."
As for him, he said he was in too deep and it took the raid to radically change his life. He also had help from a good lawyer, but he said his recent success can be attributed to drug court too.
"I was arrested at a drug raid at a tattoo parlor but that was the best thing that ever happened to me, I have been clean for eight months," he said.
He hopes his experience can inspire hope for others, like Ciciora and his family.
"Do whatever you can, find help because there is always a way out," he said.