United States Drug Enforcement Administration

Tallahassee, Fla. – Tedrick Childs, 46, of Tallahassee, Fla., has pleaded guilty in federal court to distribution of cocaine and distribution of methamphetamine. The plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “Ridding our streets of the drug traffickers like this defendant peddling deadly narcotics has been a principal objective of Operation Take Back America, and I am incredibly proud to deliver yet another successful prosecution under this DOJ initiative. The citizens of the Northern District of Florida deserve to live in drug-free, safe communities, and my office will continue to aggressively prosecute the criminals standing in the way of that objective.”

Court records indicate that the defendant was identified by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as a poly-drug trafficker in the Tallahassee area. During an undercover operation, DEA purchased cocaine and methamphetamine from the defendant between November and December 2025. In 2017, Childs was convicted in federal court for distribution of cocaine, and he was serving a term of supervised release as part of his sentence in that case when he sold drugs in 2025.

Childs faces up to 30 years’ imprisonment on the distribution of cocaine count, and not less than 15 years’ imprisonment up to Life imprisonment on the distribution of methamphetamine count.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Eric K. Mountin.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 20, 2026, at the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee before Chief United States District Judge Allen C. Winsor.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.