United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announced that Brian Keith Speights (68, Jacksonville) has pleaded guilty to escaping from federal custody at a halfway house in the city. The defendant faces up to five years in prison during his sentencing hearing scheduled for November 19, 2025.
Speights was originally arrested on January 20, 2025, and has been in federal custody since. His previous conviction in 2019 included charges of distributing heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine from his Jacksonville residence, along with possession of firearms to aid in illegal drug trafficking. The sentence he received at that time was 90 months in federal prison.
In May 2024, Speights was transferred to the Bridges Reintegration Center, a halfway house in Jacksonville. His application for transfer explicitly stated that any breach of his confinement would be considered an escape, yet on January 2, 2025, he escaped by leaving the center without authorization and failed to return.
The following month, Speights was located at a residence in Jacksonville and arrested by deputies from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. The United States Marshals Service and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office investigated this case, with Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown handling the prosecution.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative to combat illegal immigration, eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from violent crime. The initiative leverages resources from various Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
Speights now awaits sentencing for his audacious escape from federal custody.
RELATED: Drug Kingpin Speights Pleads Guilty to Halfway House Escape
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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