Aaron Jarvis McGhee, age 40 of Sumterville, was sentenced on Apr. 8 to 35 years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl. U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan issued the sentence, which also included penalties for four co-conspirators: Johnny Angelo Pack received a sentence of 17 years and six months; Shikita Lashelle James was sentenced to 14 years; Natra Antonio Jones received twelve and a half years; and Bobby Warren Harvey, Jr. was sentenced to ten years.
The sentencing comes after an investigation into a drug trafficking organization led by McGhee that operated in Jacksonville between 2022 and 2023. According to court documents, the group purchased fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine from suppliers in Mexico. The drugs were transported through Houston, Texas before being sold in Jacksonville.
While serving time for a previous drug conviction, McGhee used a contraband cellphone from prison to coordinate the distribution network. Pack managed shipments using a semi-truck while James stored drugs at her residences in Jacksonville and handled finances for the operation. Jones and Harvey acted as runners transporting both drugs and proceeds within Jacksonville.
Between March and May of last year, members of the group frequently traveled between Jacksonville and Houston by plane. On April 28th, Drug Enforcement Administration agents observed James dropping off Jones and Harvey at the airport with suitcases containing $773,780 in cash along with approximately five kilograms of fentanyl inside them.
Further searches at two homes associated with James led agents to seize additional cash totaling over $850,000 as well as significant quantities of methamphetamine, heroin, loaded firearms, high-end luxury merchandise purchased with drug proceeds—and more than twenty-two kilograms of illegal drugs overall during this period.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America—a Department of Justice initiative aimed at combating cartels and transnational criminal organizations—coordinated through Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). The investigation involved both the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
