PENSACOLA, Fla. – Defendants previously indicted and later convicted in multiple cases for their participation in an opioid, methamphetamine, and cocaine distribution ring operating in Okaloosa County, Fla., were sentenced last week in the Northern District of Florida. The prosecutions were the result of a large-scale multi-agency investigation spearheaded by...

TAMPA, Fla. – Jared Collins (28, Pasco County) was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for distributing narcotics, resulting in death. Collins had pleaded guilty on April 27, 2021. According to the plea agreement, on Dec. 16, 2019, Collins distributed narcotics to M.B. in Wesley Chapel. M.B. injected the narcotics and...

TAMPA, Fla. – David Burkes (52, Safety Harbor) was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for distributing narcotics, resulting in death to one individual and seriously bodily injury to another. Burkes had pleaded guilty on April 21, 2021. According to the plea agreement, beginning on Aug. 12, 2019, Burkes distributed fentanyl...

TAMPA, Fla. – A federal jury has found Wilis A. Santiago Rivera (60, St. Petersburg) guilty of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. Santiago faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, and up to life, in federal prison. A sentencing date...

TAMPA, Fla. – Mario Marquez Roberson, age 28, of St. Petersburg was sentenced today to 15 years and 8 months in federal prison for distribution of 4-flouroisobutyrl fentanyl, a synthetic opioid. Roberson had pleaded guilty on April 2, 2019. According to court documents, Roberson engaged in six transactions with an...