Man Arrested for Selling Fake Crack to Nursing Home Residents

By Grayson KammFirst Coast News

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Police say they've arrested a man who was selling fake crack to residents of a Northside nursing home.

For the folks who live at Golden Retreat retirement home on Moncrief Road, every day can already be a confusing struggle. They are both elderly and suffer from mental illness.

Police say all Hillmon Arnold saw -- were easy targets.

Arnold, 22, admitted he was targeting the seniors at the center on the Northside because he knew their government benefits checks arrived on Thursday, a police report says.

A tip from a staff member at the retirement home led police to Arnold, the report says.

Once officers caught up with him, the report says officers patted him down and found a Tylenol pill bottle with seven Tylenol pills and one small rock of what appeared to be crack cocaine inside.

Officers tested the rock with a chemical kit and the results showed the crack was fake, according to Jacksonville Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Melissa Bujeda.

"He openly admitted that he was trying to sell fake crack cocaine to these citizens because of his own drug habit, to try and make some money," Bujeda said.

What was this substance he was trying to pass off as crack? Officers say it was pieces of bread. And he was charging $5 per piece, according to the report.

Even though the rock wasn't real, police say he'll be treated like a real drug dealer in court.

"He's going out there with the intention that he's selling crack cocaine to individuals, which is obviously a crime, and whether it's real or fake, it's still a crime," Bujeda said.

Arnold was arrested on felony charges of selling, manufacturing, or delivering a counterfeit controlled substance.