TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Jason Rigdon, 44, of Crawfordville, Florida, pleaded guilty July 9, 2025, to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of multiple firearms by a convicted felon. The plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida. “I applaud the...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Kendrick Jermaine Hills Jr., 22, of Williston, Florida, has been indicted in federal court for charges related to armed drug trafficking. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the charges. Hills was arrested on July 10, 2025, and appeared before United...

Tampa, Fla. – U.S. District Judge William F. Jung has sentenced Vicente Lopez Mero (67, Ecuador) to 19 years and 6 months in federal prison for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine on a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Lopez Mero pleaded guilty on...

EL PASO, Texas – A Mexican national charged with four counts in a 14-count indictment was extradited to the Western District of Texas following his arrest in Mexico last week. According to court documents, from January 2016 through August 2019, Hector Adrian Rojero Ramos aka Teto, 54, allegedly engaged in...

GAINESVILLE, FLA. – Khiri Jackson, 31, of Cross City, Fla., pled guilty in federal court to possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. The plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida. U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “Methamphetamine...

PENSACOLA, FLA. – Today, United States Attorney John P. Heekin announced criminal charges against four defendants with an alleged scheme to unlawfully divert oxycodone, hydrocodone, and amphetamine. The charges filed in federal court are part of the Department of Justice’s 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown. All the cases are...

ALBUQUERQUE – A Texas woman is facing federal charges after U.S. Border Patrol agents seized more than 20 pounds of cocaine from her vehicle during a checkpoint inspection south of Alamogordo, New Mexico. According to court documents, on the afternoon of June 16, 2025, U.S. Border Patrol agents encountered Aurelia...

GAINESVILLE, FLA. – Ronald Carl Peavy II, 49, of Old Town, Fla., has been indicted in federal court for possessing with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida announced the charge. Peavy is scheduled for...

TALLAHASSEE, FLA – United States Attorney John P. Heekin announces the last of four co-defendants was sentenced today in a large-scale conspiracy that distributed over 1000 kilograms of marijuana in Tallahassee. Tyquan Watson, 28, of Tallahassee, Fla., received 10 years in prison. His half-brother, Cleveland Blackshear, 26, of Tallahassee also...

MIAMI – Luther Trovian Jones, 52, from Sebring, Florida, was sentenced yesterday by a South Florida federal district judge to 121 months for distribution of methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Jones was the subject of a joint investigation between the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Highlands County...