FLORIDA – Four defendants have now been convicted and sentenced in a long-term methamphetamine drug trafficking investigation in Washington County, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida (USAO).
A federal judge sentenced the fourth defendant last week. The convictions and sentences were announced by Jason R. Coody United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
According to Coody, the defendants and their sentences are:
- Ashley Zurica, 43, of Caryville, Florida, 220 months in prison
- Ashley Brown, 41, of Caryville, Florida, 180 months in prison
- Donald Skipper, 55, of Chipley, Florida, 180 months in prison
- William Carter, 52, of Wausau, Florida, 168 months in prison
All will be on supervised release when they are eventually released from custody.
“Methamphetamine distribution is a scourge on large and small communities of our district,” said Coody.
“With our dedicated law enforcement partners, we are committed to identifying and aggressively prosecuting those who threaten our citizens’ health and safety by distributing such addictive, controlled substances. These sentences demonstrate that resolve.”
According to the USAO, in 2019, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Panama City Resident Office Task Force initiated an investigation targeting the distribution of multiple kilograms of methamphetamine by Ashley Zurica, Ashley Brown, Donald Skipper, William Carter, and others in Washington county and surrounding areas of north Florida.
Over the course of the three-year investigation, DEA, working with state and local partners, compiled evidence to secure indictments on four federal defendants in the Northern District of Florida in addition to indictments in other federal districts and multiple State of Florida defendants.
The investigation led to the seizure of several kilograms of methamphetamine and the identification of illegal drug sources in Florida, Alabama, and Georgia, the USAO said.
“Our work with the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Florida and DEA is resulting in convictions and removing illegal narcotics from our community,” said Washington County Sheriff Kevin Crews.
“We remain committed to working with our federal, local, and state law enforcement partners to keep these highly addictive and destructive drugs out of our community.”
The case resulted from a joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Chipley Police Department, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Washington County State’s Attorney Office. Assistant United States Attorney Walter Narramore prosecuted the case.
