A sprawling drug trafficking ring that pumped methamphetamine, cocaine, and MDMA across northcentral Florida’s panhandle has been cracked open by federal prosecutors. Twelve individuals from Gadsden and Jackson Counties were indicted by a federal grand jury in Tallahassee, accused of operating a coordinated distribution network between 2018 and 2019.
The defendants named in the indictment are Jermaine Terrell Hadley, 31, Quincy, Florida; Devar San Jacus Donaldson, 27, Quincy, Florida; Sariem Shanquell McMillian, 23, Quincy, Florida; Ja’rod Lamar Bryant, 31, Quincy, Florida; Jaquantavious Trayshon Owens, 25, Quincy, Florida; Jamaron Juanata Paden Sr., 29, Marianna, Florida; Eddie Lee Hughes, 52, Quincy, Florida; Tiffany Jean Hughes, 29, Marianna, Florida; Samantha Eugenia Yelle, 30, Marianna, Florida; Patrick Lee Baker, 43, Quincy, Florida; Randell Lavel Colston, 47, Quincy, Florida; and Linda Lockwood, 48, Quincy, Florida.
The charges stem from an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation targeting high-level drug organizations. Authorities allege the group moved significant quantities of narcotics across county lines, exploiting rural routes and interstate corridors to supply dealers and users deep in Florida’s interior. The indictment was unsealed today by Lawrence Keefe, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
If convicted, the defendants face penalties ranging up to life imprisonment and fines as high as $20,000,000. The charges include conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, substantive drug counts, and use of communication devices in furtherance of drug trafficking. Each name on the indictment now carries the weight of a federal prosecution designed to dismantle entire networks, not just street-level players.
The investigation was a massive interagency effort involving the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Office of Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Highway Patrol, Chattahoochee Police Department, Tallahassee Police Department, Leon County Sheriff’s Office, Calhoun Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Florida Air National Guard Counterdrug Program. Assistant United States Attorney Eric Mountin is leading the prosecution.
An indictment is not a conviction. Every defendant is presumed innocent under federal law until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The OCDETF program, however, signals the government’s intent to strike at the core of sustained criminal operations — and this case marks one of the region’s most significant drug enforcement actions in recent years.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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