Shawntae Jamell Clark, Methamphetamine Trafficking, Florida 2022

A Clay County man has been sentenced to 10 years and 5 months in federal prison for his role in a massive methamphetamine trafficking operation.

Shawntae Jamell Clark, 45, of Clay County, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard on September 25, 2023, for possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Clark was arrested on July 6, 2022, and ordered detained. He pleaded guilty on August 21, 2023.

According to court documents, deputies from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office were investigating Clark based on reports that he was selling drugs, including methamphetamine, out of a hotel room at the Stay Suites on Wells Road in Clay County.

On July 2, 2021, deputies observed Clark leaving his hotel room with a backpack and getting into a car. During a subsequent traffic stop of the vehicle, a CCSO canine alerted to the car, indicating that it contained illegal narcotics.

A subsequent search of the car revealed a small safe containing a loaded Beretta pistol and Taurus revolver, 7 baggies of methamphetamine, and approximately 100 small baggies. Further investigation determined that the total weight of the methamphetamine was approximately 159 grams, and that Clark had multiple prior felony convictions for armed robbery, attempted lewd or lascivious act – sexual battery, and multiple convictions for possession of cocaine.

As such, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.

The forfeiture was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Mai Tran.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.

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