Panama City man sentenced to 77 months for threatening informant

PENSACOLA, Fla. — A Panama City man has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison after pleading guilty to threatening a federal informant and violating the terms of his supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida.

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Thomas Zachary Breeding, 41, was sentenced to a total of 77 months in prison for retaliation against a federal informant, transmission of threatening communications in interstate commerce, and supervised release violations, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney John P. Heekin.

According to court records, on May 31, 2024, Mr Breeding sent a series of Facebook messages threatening bodily harm to an individual he blamed for his prior imprisonment.

Prosecutors said Breeding referred to the individual as a “rat” and threatened to “break” a “knife off” in the person’s “guts,” sending the messages in retaliation for the individual’s cooperation with federal law enforcement during an earlier cocaine distribution case.

At the time the messages were sent, Mr Breeding was still on federal supervised release related to the prior conviction and later admitted to violating the conditions of that supervision, according to court documents.

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“I appreciate the excellent investigative work by our state and federal law enforcement partners that led to this successful prosecution,” said Mr Heekin.

“My office has zero tolerance for those who threaten our communities with violence, and we will aggressively prosecute such offenses to keep our residents safe.”

Breeding was sentenced to 47 months in prison for the retaliation and threat charges and an additional 30 months to be served consecutively for the supervised release violations.

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The Drug Enforcement Administration led the investigation, with assistance from the Walton County Sheriff’s Office and the Bay County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia H. Forbes.