Three members of a Jacksonville-based drug trafficking group have been sentenced to federal jail for his or her roles in a violent retaliation taking pictures alongside Interstate 95 and a broader marijuana distribution conspiracy, federal prosecutors introduced.
James Toney, 20, of Jacksonville, was sentenced to 16 years in federal jail by U.S. District Decide Harvey Schlesinger. Toney was convicted of conspiring to distribute marijuana, committing a drive-by taking pictures in furtherance of a serious drug offense, and discharging a firearm throughout against the law of violence.
In associated sentences, Javon Davis, 27, obtained 7 years in federal jail, and Christian Guyton, 23, was sentenced to 8 years and 4 months, each for conspiracy to distribute and possess marijuana with intent to distribute.
The announcement was made by U.S. Legal professional Gregory W. Kehoe.
Multi-State Marijuana Operation
Based on courtroom paperwork, Toney, Davis, and Guyton operated as armed distributors for a Jacksonville drug trafficking group (DTO) led by Nathaniel Hatcher III.
Prosecutors say the group trafficked bulk marijuana from Northern California to Jacksonville via a number of strategies, together with:
- Smuggling the drug on business airways
- Transport packages via the mail
- Transporting marijuana throughout state traces by automobile
As soon as in Jacksonville, the marijuana was saved, packaged, and distributed from short-term rental properties all through the town. Authorities stated members routinely carried firearms at these places to guard medication and proceeds.
Investigators additionally revealed that Desmond Maxwell, a former correctional officer, assisted the group by illegally buying firearms for Hatcher and different members.
$45,000 Theft Sparked Violent Retaliation
The violence stemmed from a failed drug deal on September 18, 2023, at a gasoline station on Outdated St. Augustine Street in Jacksonville. Throughout the transaction, one other group allegedly stole roughly $45,000 from Hatcher and Toney with out delivering the promised marijuana.
Following the theft, prosecutors say Hatcher contacted a former police officer who unlawfully accessed regulation enforcement databases to acquire private details about the suspected thieves.
For practically a month, Toney and different DTO members surveilled and cyber-stalked the people concerned, exchanging textual content messages plotting retaliation.
Drive-By Taking pictures on I-95
On October 17, 2023, the state of affairs escalated dramatically.
After monitoring one of many theft suspects leaving the Duval County courthouse, Toney and different members of the group adopted the sufferer’s automobile onto I-95 South towards St. Johns County.
Authorities say the group used a number of automobiles — together with a stolen sedan and an SUV — to field within the sufferer’s automobile within the left lane of site visitors round 11:20 a.m.
Toney and Hatcher allegedly fired dozens of rounds of seven.62 caliber ammunition on the automobile. Deputies later recovered roughly 25 spent shell casings, and ballistics testing confirmed two separate firearms had been used.
The male sufferer sustained a gunshot wound however survived after being airlifted to a trauma middle. A feminine passenger suffered accidents from shattered glass. The automobile was closely broken, with bullet strikes to the passenger aspect, windshield, hood, inside, and engine block.
The suspects fled the scene.
Further Sentences within the Conspiracy
A number of different members of the Hatcher DTO have already been sentenced:
- Nathaniel Hatcher III – 35 years federal jail
- Tavarius Blue – 12 years federal jail
- Yaquasia Delcarmen – 8 years federal jail
- Al’Donta Easterling – 10 years federal jail
- Darion Jerido – 6 years and 6 months federal jail
- Briyhon Johnson – 14 years and three months federal jail
Maxwell has pleaded responsible to straw-purchasing firearms and faces as much as 25 years in jail.
Jahson Hatcher has pleaded responsible to marijuana conspiracy prices and faces a compulsory minimal of 5 years.
Multi-Company Investigation
The case was investigated by Homeland Safety Investigations, the IRS Prison Investigation Division, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Workplace, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Workplace, the Clay County Sheriff’s Workplace, and the Florida Freeway Patrol.
Assistant U.S. Legal professional Elisibeth Adams prosecuted the case.
Federal officers stated the case is a part of Operation Take Again America, a Division of Justice initiative concentrating on organized crime and transnational felony organizations via coordinated federal enforcement efforts.
