Jacksonville man pleads guilty to federal drug and firearm charges

FLORIDA – A Jacksonville man has pleaded guilty to federal drug and firearm charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida has announced.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida (USAO), Brandon Corey Skeith, 40, of Jacksonville, has pleaded guilty to possessing fentanyl and cocaine base with the intent to distribute it and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Skeith faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years, and up to life, in federal prison, the USAO said.

According to the plea agreement and court documents, Skeith sold drugs out of a motel near Dunn Avenue in Jacksonville. In April 2022, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit reportedly observed Skeith selling fentanyl from the motel and obtained a search warrant for his room.

During the execution of the search warrant, officers said they seized fentanyl packaged for sale, cocaine base, scales, beakers, and a loaded Smith and Wesson 9mm pistol. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement analyzed the pistol and said Skeith’s DNA was found on the firearm.

This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Talbot. Assistant United States Attorney Mai Tran is handling forfeiture of the firearm and ammunition.