CRESTVIEW, Fla. — An Okaloosa County man is facing federal charges in a drug distribution and money laundering case, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida.
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Monteles Terrell Burden, 40, of Crestview, has been indicted along with two co-defendants from California on charges tied to an alleged methamphetamine distribution conspiracy.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida, Mr Burden, Marcus Dewayne Gulley, 53, and Tristian R. Harris, 38, are each charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, conspiracy to use a telephone facility to support drug trafficking, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The defendants appeared for arraignment before United States Magistrate Judge Hope Thai Cannon in Pensacola.
A jury trial is scheduled for May 18, 2026, before U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell II.
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If convicted, Mr Burden and his co-defendants face a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years in prison and up to life imprisonment on the drug conspiracy charge.
They also face up to 20 years for the alleged money laundering conspiracy and up to four years for the telephone-related charge.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service jointly investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica S. Etherton is prosecuting it.
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The case is part of a nationwide Department of Justice initiative known as Operation Take Back America, which focuses on combating drug trafficking and transnational criminal organizations.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
