Lenny Fries Jr., the owner of Lenny’s New York Pizza and its second location in Volusia County, attempted to flee through the back door of his upscale Ormond Beach home when the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team arrived Friday morning. According to a charging affidavit, he quickly retreated inside.

Once inside the residence, law enforcement discovered drugs and firearms, including cocaine stashed under a couch cushion, along with marijuana cultivation equipment in a storage room.

Fries, 49, became the central figure of the investigation and was arrested that morning on several drug trafficking charges. The raid involved not only the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office but also the FBI and other agencies.

Lenny’s Pizza Owner Appears in Court

On Saturday morning, Fries appeared before Flagler County Judge D. Melissa Distler. Assistant State Attorney Melissa Clark and Judge Distler acknowledged that one of the charges listed—a crime that doesn’t legally exist—was likely meant to be “armed trafficking.” They labeled that particular charge “insufficient.”

Distler set Fries’ bond at $145,500 for the remaining charges.

Clark also requested that Fries surrender his passport, noting he had a cruise scheduled within the next three weeks that would take him out of the country.

Fries declined the assistance of the Public Defender’s Office, claiming he had retained a private attorney, though he didn’t provide a name, saying only, “I have one set up.”

The charges Fries now faces include:

• Trafficking cocaine (28–150 grams)
• Possession of marijuana with intent to sell, manufacture, or deliver
• Possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell, manufacture, or deliver
• Possession of cathinones with intent to sell, manufacture, or deliver
• Possession of hashish with intent to sell, manufacture, or deliver
• Resisting arrest without violence
• Two counts of manufacturing or delivering narcotics cultivation paraphernalia

SWAT Team Confronts Fries at His Home

At 6 a.m. Friday, the Flagler County Sheriff’s SWAT team arrived at Fries’ residence on Winchester Road. According to the affidavit, they announced themselves and engaged with multiple people on the property.

Fries attempted to escape through a rear exit as the SWAT team surrounded the house but soon reentered the home. Authorities apprehended him, and he cooperated thereafter.

Here’s what deputies found inside, based on the charging affidavit:

• 700 grams of marijuana
• 76.6 grams of cocaine (trafficking weight)
• 415 grams of hashish (combined gummies and THC wax)
• 2.8 grams of methamphetamine
• 8.8 grams of synthetic cathinones
• A narcotics press machine with cocaine residue
• A Sig Sauer handgun and large bag of cocaine on an ottoman
• Multiple cocaine bags and a Smith & Wesson handgun under a couch cushion

They also uncovered vacuum-sealed bags, cash, scales, packaging materials, and UV grow lights with fans and chemicals used for cultivating marijuana. Marijuana seeds were found in the living room.

Additional evidence was sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for testing.

Sheriff: Fries Posed as Law Enforcement Ally

Sheriff Rick Staly said Fries was upstairs when the SWAT team arrived. Deputies speculated whether he was trying to run, dispose of drugs in the pool, or both.

“We weren’t sure that he was going to come out,” Staly said. “Fortunately, he made the right decision and he came out the front door with his hands up.”

The Sheriff’s Office used its Bearcat armored vehicle, equipped with a powerful public address system, to order Fries out of the house. Fries surrendered without incident.

Staly noted Fries likely contacted his attorney, who showed up during the raid and instructed law enforcement not to question him.

According to Staly, a tip sparked the investigation, which led to an undercover operation in collaboration with the FBI. “I can say we bought a significant quantity of cocaine at his house,” he said.

Staly revealed that Fries stored drugs in his car and frequently retrieved them from the trunk during transactions.

Authorities seized three vehicles during the raid, including a 2023 Cadillac Escalade. One of the vehicles had a Florida license plate supporting the Police Athletic League, while another had a Police Benevolent Association (PBA) plate.

Fries’ home also displayed an American flag with a thin blue line, a symbol of support for law enforcement.

“So he was trying to portray himself as a big supporter of law enforcement at the same time he was selling cocaine and methamphetamine,” Staly said.

Interestingly, Staly mentioned he has never eaten at Lenny’s Pizza.

He described Fries’ neighborhood as a quiet, gated community with large estate homes, some with horse facilities, established several decades ago.

A High-End Alleged Drug Operation

Fries’ property at 17 Winchester Road, located in the Eagle Rock Range subdivision in unincorporated Flagler County, isn’t the typical home where Sheriff Staly places his “drug house closed” signs.

According to the Flagler County Property Appraiser’s Office, the residence has 3,895 square feet of heated space and 5,919 total square feet. It features four bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms and is valued at $994,391.

Records also show Fries owns another property on La Mancha Drive in Palm Coast.

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