PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Antoine Booker, 21, of Pensacola, Florida, was sentenced to nine years in federal prison for trafficking in large amounts of marijuana and possessing a loaded machine gun in Escambia County.
Booker was caught fleeing from the Florida Highway Patrol at a high rate of speed during an attempted traffic stop in Pensacola on December 6, 2023. He was driving down the wrong side of the road and throwing drugs out of his window when the vehicle chase ended in a collision with a curb on Pensacola Boulevard.
As law enforcement approached the overturned vehicle, Booker crawled out and was caught in possession of a Glock 9 millimeter pistol, modified with a ‘conversion device’ that rendered it an automatic firing machine gun. The machine gun contained 32 rounds of ammunition in its chamber and extended high-capacity magazine.
“The public should rest assured that law enforcement will not stand for armed drug traffickers endangering citizens in our streets,” stated United States Attorney John P. Heekin. “If you possess a machine gun to protect your drug trafficking operations, you should know that federal prison awaits you.”
The case involved a joint investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Florida Highway Patrol; the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office; and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David L. Goldberg and Jessica S. Etherton.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, 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.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime|Sex Crimes|Cybercrime|Public Corruption|Weapons|Human Trafficking|White Collar Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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