Florida felon sentenced to 10 years for possessing drugs, firearm

FLORIDA – A convicted north Florida felon has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for possessing drugs and a firearm, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida has announced.

According to the announcement, Johntavious Tiller, 31, of Wewahitchka, Florida, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release.

Tiller was convicted at jury trial of possession with intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine and pleading guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. The sentence was announced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

“I am proud of our federal, state, and local partners for their tireless efforts to keep us safe and serve a critical role in our efforts to remove addictive and deadly controlled substances from our communities,” said Coody.

“We will continue to support the efforts our law enforcement partners as we work together to investigate and prosecute criminals bringing drugs into North Florida.”

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, on September 21, 2019, officers of the Panama City Police Department arrested Tiller after discovering nine small baggies of methamphetamine, a small baggie of heroin, a small digital scale, and a .45 caliber pistol during a traffic stop.

After bonding out of state custody, Tiller was arrested on October 29, 2019, by officers of the Bay County Sheriff’s Office for allegedly being in possession of 31 small baggies of cocaine and a .44 caliber revolver.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms adopted the case for federal prosecution and conducted an additional investigation.

Tiller reportedly had 11 prior felony convictions, including multiple convictions for drug and firearm offenses, and had only been out of prison for six months at the time of the September 21, 2019, offense.

Tiller was determined to qualify as a Career Offender, which provided for an enhanced sentence.

This sentencing resulted from the collaborative work of the Panama City Police Department, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, the Panama City Beach Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James A. McCain.