United States Drug Enforcement Administration

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Thomas Zachary Breeding, 41, of Panama City, FL, was sentenced to a total of 77 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to retaliation against a federal informant, transmission of threatening communications in interstate commerce, and supervised release violations. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “I appreciate the excellent investigative work by our state and federal law enforcement partners that led to this successful prosecution. My office has zero tolerance for those who threaten our communities with violence, and we will aggressively prosecute such offenses to keep our residents safe.”

Court documents reflect that on May 31, 2024, the defendant sent Facebook messages threatening bodily injury to an individual. In the messages, the defendant blamed the individual for sending him to prison, called him a “rat,” and promised to “break” a “knife off” in their “guts.” The defendant sent the threats to retaliate against the individual for having provided information to federal law enforcement as part of a prior federal investigation and prosecution of the defendant for distributing cocaine. The defendant was still on federal supervised release for that prior case at the time he made the threats, and he admitted to violating the terms and conditions of his supervision as a result of the new charges.

“DEA and our law enforcement partners will not stop protecting our communities from traffickers pushing poisons into our neighborhoods and threatening the safety and security of those helping us do just that,” said DEA Miami Field Division Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter. “This man was convicted of distributing cocaine and then threatened members of the community who wanted his actions stopped.”

Breeding was sentenced to 47 months in prison for the retaliation and threat charges and an additional 30 months to run consecutively for the supervised release violations. 

The sentence was the result of a joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the Walton County Sheriff’s Office and the Bay County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida.