Kanethia Tremeka Steele and Kenneth Steele, Methamphetamine Distribution, Florida 2025

Grimy Times has learned that Kanethia Tremeka Steele, 51, of Tampa, Florida, and her son Kenneth Steele, 30, of Phoenix, Arizona, have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

The guilty pleas were announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida. Heekin stated that the importation and distribution of methamphetamine is a scourge on communities throughout North Florida.

Court documents reflect that over a three-year period Kanethia Steele obtained kilogram quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine from Arizona-based drug suppliers on behalf of drug traffickers operating in the counties of Alachua, Dixie, Gilchrist, and Levy.

Kanethia Steele enlisted the assistance of her son, Kenneth, to transport multi-kilogram shipments of methamphetamine secreted in luggage on commercial flights from Phoenix, Arizona to Orlando, Florida. At the direction of his mother, Kenneth Steele made three flights, transporting over 40 pounds of methamphetamine that was distributed in North Florida.

Sentencing for Kenneth Steele is scheduled for July 22, at 2:00 p.m. Kanethia Steele will be sentenced on September 30, 2025, at 3:00 p.m. The defendants will be sentenced at the United States Courthouse in Gainesville before Chief United States District Judge Alan C. Winsor.

The convictions were the result of a joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Former Assistant United States Attorney Corey Smith and Assistant United States Attorney Jason Coody.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is committed to identifying and aggressively prosecuting drug traffickers like Kanethia and Kenneth Steele who would profit from poisoning our fellow citizens.

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