LUBBOCK, TX – A former Texas Tech University professor who manufactured and distributed fentanyl — including a branded mixture known as “pink flamingo” — was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison. Daniel Taylor, 44, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or...

PLANO, TEXAS – A Serbian national has been sentenced to federal prison as part of a Homeland Security Task Force investigation into cocaine trafficking in the Eastern District of Texas. Milan Tanovic, 59, also known as Marco, a Serbian national living in Spain, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with...

Sherman, TX – An Arizona woman and a Dallas man have been sentenced to federal prison as part of a Homeland Security Task Force investigation into a deadly fentanyl overdose. Pamela Esquivias, also known as Azalea, 25, of Maricopa, Arizona, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute...

MIAMI – Five defendants pleaded guilty to conspiring to import thousands of kilograms of cocaine into South Florida aboard sport fishing vessels from the Dominican Republic. According to court records, Andy Gabriel Mercedes-Hernandez, 32; Jesus Alberto Salcedo-Perez, 32; Keisy Estibet Peguero, 38; Enmanuel Amauris Rivera-Cabrera, 32; and Mario Joel Rijo-Jimenez...

Pensacola, Fla. – Arzalea Teshean McLaughlin, 37, Benjamin Eugene Mack, 54, and Roger Cornell Daniels, 38, all of Crestview, Florida, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and cocaine base, conspiracy to unlawfully use...

Pensacola, Florida – Jovon “Playa Pat” Booker, 33, of Pensacola, Florida, was convicted by a jury in federal court on one count of discharging a handgun in relation to a drug trafficking crime, and a separate count of possessing firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Prior to the...

MUSKOGEE, OK – Five co-defendants pleaded guilty to federal drug offenses and related charges. On May 18, 2026, Anthony Wayne Schoggins, 40, of McAlester, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty to one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl, and one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, each punishable by...

Tampa, Fla. – Herbert Battle, Jr. (54, Hardee County) has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Virgina M. Hernandez Covington to 27 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute over 500 grams of methamphetamine. Battle pleaded guilty on August 19, 2025.United States Attorney...

Tallahassee, Fla. – Deontae Watkins, 44, of Perry, Florida, pleaded guilty in federal court to possession with the intent to distribute various controlled substances including more than 500 grams of methamphetamine; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking offense; possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; and...

Tallahassee, Florida – Jimmy Randell Chason, 70, of Cairo, Georgia, pleaded guilty in federal court to three counts of distribution of methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida. U.S...