ORLANDO, Fla . – U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. sentenced James Mirabal (46, St. Cloud) to 15 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine. The court also ordered Mirabal to forfeit $124,598, traceable proceeds of the offense. Mirabal had pleaded guilty on December 27, 2022. Mirabal’s...

TAMPA , Fla. –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced the arrest of Perry Ivory Wims (37, Tampa) on a criminal complaint charging possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Wims was arrested on March 9, 2023 and ordered detained pending the outcome of his case. According to the...

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Dr. George Barrio, a pain management physician who formerly practiced medicine at the NeuroMedical Institute in Panama City, agreed to pay $225,000 to resolve allegations that he unlawfully prescribed opioids and other controlled substances to patients. The settlement was announced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney...

HOUSTON – The former governor of Tamaulipas, Mexico, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for accepting over $3.5 million in illegal bribe money and using it to fraudulently purchase property in the United States, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux, Houston Division...

TAMPA, Fla. – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced the unsealing of an indictment charging Marcus Jamar Fowler (32, Tarpon Springs) a/k/a “Drastic,” and Abelardo Torres (36, Tampa) with conspiracy to distribute narcotics and possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance. Pierre Marquise Fowler (34, Port Richey)...

TAMPA, Fla. – U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell has sentenced Justin Kelly (36, New Port Richey) to concurrent terms of life in prison for conspiracy to distribute 40 grams of fentanyl resulting in death and distribution of fentanyl resulting in death, and 15 years’ imprisonment for three counts of...

FORT MYERS, Fla. – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has sentenced Robert Steven Harrelson (45, Arcadia) to 21 years and 10 months in federal prison for possessing with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. The court also ordered Harrelson to forfeit a firearm and ammunition...

PENSACOLA, Fla. – A federal judge sentenced the seventh defendant in a large-scale methamphetamine and oxycodone trafficking organization operating primarily in Bay County. The convictions and sentences were announced by Jason R. Coody United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida. “Our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners...

LAREDO, Texas – Five U.S. citizens and one Mexican national have been convicted of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute a total of approximately 75 kilograms of meth associated with an independent drug cartel located in Michoacan, Mexico, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel...

HOUSTON – A 24-year-old Houston resident has been ordered to federal prison for his role in trafficking drugs in the metro area, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux, Houston Division and U.S Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. Alberto Serna pleaded guilty Oct. 27, 2022, to...