Travis W. Carroll, 26, of Pensacola, Florida, pleaded guilty on July 20 to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. The plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said, “My office continues to deliver successful prosecutions of armed drug traffickers to fulfill the promise made by the Department of Justice when it launched Operation Take Back America: the citizens of the Northern District of Florida deserve to live in safe, drug-free communities. Keeping drug-peddling thugs off our streets and locked away in federal prison remains a top priority that my office will achieve through aggressive prosecutions like this one.”
According to court documents, law enforcement responded to reports of an armed robbery at the Beacon Food Store in Pensacola and observed Carroll nearby riding an electric bicycle matching the suspect’s description. After Carroll ran a stop sign and was pulled over, officers found a loaded firearm, methamphetamine, a scale, and more than $600 on his person.
Carroll faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; up to 15 years for being a felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition; and between five years’ mandatory minimum up to life imprisonment—consecutive—to any other sentence for possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Thomas S.P. Geeker and Christopher C. Patterson are prosecuting the case. Sentencing is scheduled for September 3 at 10:30 am before United States District Judge M. Casey Rodgers at the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is part of Operation Take Back America—a nationwide initiative aiming at eliminating cartels and transnational criminal organizations while protecting communities from violent crime perpetrators—and collaborates with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies through initiatives such as Project Safe Childhood and Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee, according to its official website. The office covers 23 counties including Tallahassee and operates from courthouses in Tallahassee, Pensacola and Gainesville while advancing community safety by enforcing federal laws across northern Florida.