TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA - Barney Crutchfield, of Tallahassee, was sentenced Thursday, July 11, to 120 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to drug conspiracy and firearms charges stemming from conspiracy to distribute narcotics throughout Northwest Florida. Crutchfield, 58, pleaded guilty in April 2018 to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, as well as possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon. The sentence was announced by Lawrence Keefe, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
Law enforcement began a wiretap investigation into the drug activities of Crutchfield and several co-defendants in 2017. Through the wiretap and other investigative means, federal agents and officers discovered that Crutchfield was distributing large quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine in Northwest Florida. Crutchfield and his co-defendants were obtaining cocaine from sources in Jacksonville and Miami, as well as methamphetamine from sources in Southern Georgia. Crutchfield was using his residence to store and sell the narcotics. A search of Crutchfield’s residence in Tallahassee resulted in the recovery of over 50 grams of methamphetamine, approximately 6 ounces of cocaine, approximately $29,134 in United States currency, and more than a thousand rounds of ammunition. At Crutchfield’s business, agents located approximately $254,460 in United States currency in a safe, along with an Intratec 9 mm pistol. Agents also searched a co-defendant’s residence, where they located another 30 firearms that Crutchfield had moved during the wiretap.
"This sentence sends a serious criminal to prison for years, and it would not have been possible without the outstanding cooperation and work by law enforcement and prosecutors at the federal, state, and local levels," U.S. Attorney Keefe said. "Cocaine and methamphetamine remain a scourge in many communities in Northwest Florida, and this case sends a message to criminals that we will find you and put you out of business."
Five co-defendants have previously been sentenced, and three others are still pending sentencing. One co-defendant has been charged by the State of Florida, and one other co-defendant was charged in a separate federal indictment and is pending trial.
This case resulted from a joint prosecution with the State Attorney’s Office for the Second Judicial Circuit, and an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Florida Highway Patrol, the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, and the Tallahassee Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Gary Milligan prosecuted the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys