OCALA, Fla. – Following eight days of trial in federal court, David Chappell Fey (57, Belleview) and Shari Lynn Gunter (58, Ocklawaha) have each been found guilty as charged for the murder of a government witness. The trial required special accommodations: a separate jury heard evidence for each defendant. In...

FORT MYERS, Fla. – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell today sentenced Gerald Michael Abraham, 76, of Naples, Florida. to three years in federal prison for dispensing controlled substances (oxycodone and amphetamine) for no legitimate medical purpose. The court also ordered Abraham to forfeit the following items to the United...

MIAMI – A Florida man pleaded guilty yesterday to unlawfully distributing opioids at his pain management clinic in Miami, Florida. According to court documents, Habib Geagea Palacios, 40, of Miami, owned a cash-only pain management clinic in Miami, Florida named General Care Center, Inc. At General Care Center, Palacios paid...

MIAMI - A federal court in Florida ordered a Tampa-area pharmacy shut down and prohibited two of its employees from ever owning, managing or operating any business where controlled substances are dispensed. Pursuant to an agreed consent judgment and permanent injunction filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District...

OMAHA, Neb. – The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 21st National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 23, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event offers free and anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 local drop-off locations nationwide. According to a report published...

TAMPA, Fla. – Six individuals who are part of the Fernando Pineda-Jimenez Transnational Criminal Organization have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a conspiracy to distribute cocaine using vessels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States (U.S.). Fernando Pineda-Jimenez, a/k/a “Padrino,” 40, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy...

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Defendants previously indicted and later convicted in multiple cases for their participation in a methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana ring operating in Crestview, Fla., were sentenced last week in the Northern District of Florida. The prosecutions were the result of a large-scale multi-agency investigation spearheaded by the...

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Defendants previously indicted and later convicted in multiple cases for their participation in an opioid, methamphetamine, and cocaine distribution ring operating in Okaloosa County, Fla., were sentenced last week in the Northern District of Florida. The prosecutions were the result of a large-scale multi-agency investigation spearheaded by...

OMAHA, Neb. – Investigators with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Omaha Division, Lincoln Police Department (LPD), Omaha Police Department (OPD) and Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) are alerting the public to an increase in overdose deaths that began August 10, from fentanyl-laced drugs. No less than eight overdose deaths and 21...

TAMPA, Fla. – David Burkes (52, Safety Harbor) was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for distributing narcotics, resulting in death to one individual and seriously bodily injury to another. Burkes had pleaded guilty on April 21, 2021. According to the plea agreement, beginning on Aug. 12, 2019, Burkes distributed fentanyl...