HIGH SPRINGS, Fla. – During the SWAT raid on a suspected drug house in High Springs, one of the guns taken was from World War II.
Anthony Rizzotto, 38, was arrested by Alachua County Sheriff’s Office officers on a number of charges, including having a gun while being a convicted criminal and having a banned drug.
On Monday morning at 8 a.m., members of the Alachua County SWAT team and state and federal officers went to a house on Northwest 240th Street to search it. After a two-hour battle, Rizzotto left his house and gave the police the code to his safe.
“SWAT Team was here,” said Michael Bertocci, who saw the raid. “The tank they use has a blasting ram. Most likely 20 police cars.”
“They started making a lot of noise and telling the guy to come out,” said Charlie Brown, another witness. “He didn’t come out. The girlfriend finally came out…Several hours later, after they had broken down the fence to get him to come out, they used a device on the front of the car to open the sliding glass door.
There were two handguns, an ammo drum, a submachine gun from World War II, and a 22-caliber rifle inside. Deputies found meth in the house, and Rizzotto said he had flushed more drugs down the toilet.
With help from the Alachua County SWAT team and FDLE officers, the DEA led the arrest.
Bertocci said, “It’s strange that this could keep going on in a neighborhood as quiet and friendly as High Springs.”
But Bertocci and Brown say they always had doubts about what was going on at the house.
“Lots of traffic,” Bertocci said. “There are a lot of cars coming in, like a parade. It’s kind of known, and it’s not really secret, either.”
Charlie Brown said, “There are always cars coming and going, and they never show their license plates. Instead, they go around the back of the house.”
Brown says that doesn’t change how safe he feels in his neighborhood, though.
“People walk,” Brown said. “They ride bikes during the day and at night.” It’s a safe place to live…They don’t want to fight with the neighbors, so leave them alone.”
