Federal Charges Filed Against Williston Man for Armed Drug Trafficking
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 States Magistrate Judge Midori A. Lowry at the United States Courthouse in Gainesville on the same day.
Hills was indicted for one count of possession with the intent to distribute marijuana, and one count of carrying a firearm during a drug-trafficking crime.
Jury trial is scheduled for August 13, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. before Chief District Court Judge Allen C. Winsor. If convicted, Hills faces up to life imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida.
An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline), 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. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).