TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that the Office of Statewide Prosecution secured a 120-year prison sentence for Marquett James, 50, of Hillsborough County; the incarceration will be served over 90 years, with some terms running concurrently.

“In a case that the Biden DOJ refused to prosecute, our Office of Statewide Prosecution worked with HSI under the Trump administration to deliver a sentence that ensures this offender will never have the opportunity to exploit another victim,” said Attorney General James Uthmeier. “Crimes of this nature cause life-long harm and must be met with punishments that reflect their severity. In Florida, there will be no leniency for sexual predators and human traffickers.”

James was convicted in November 2025 on felony charges of Human Trafficking (2 counts), Racketeering, and Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering. He will serve his sentence in the Florida Department of Corrections.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that a multi-circuit drug trafficking investigation targeting affiliates of the Valentine Bloods gang resulted in 51 arrests, as well as the seizure of over 70 pounds of meth and 10 pounds of fentanyl.“This was a highly organized, fentanyl-pushing enterprise operating in Central Florida that had ties all the way to California,” said Attorney General James Uthmeier. “We will continue dismantling these organizations form the top down. Anyone who traffics these poisons in Florida will be held accountable and prosecuted to the fullest extent.”

“Traffickers of methamphetamine and fentanyl are literally murdering people and tearing apart families,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. “The men and women who go after these drug dealers are doing a noble, but dangerous job—putting their own lives on the line, to protect their communities from the drug traffickers who are profiting from this destruction.”

“This investigation is a masterclass on how to effectively identify, disrupt, and dismantle drug trafficking organizations that are wreaking havoc across Florida,” said Florida Department of Law Enforcement Special Agent in Charge Mark Brutnell. “Thanks to our investigative teams, prosecutors and the benefit of the S.A.F.E. program, we can continue to ensure the safety of the state of Florida.”

This was a joint investigation between the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the Office of Statewide Prosecution, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The investigation began in August 2025. Investigators uncovered a highly organized drug trafficking operation spanning Polk, Hillsborough, Pasco, and Orange counties, with additional connections to California. Continue reading →

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that the Office of Statewide Prosecution secured a conviction for husband-and-wife duo, Robert and Jaclyn Dell, of St. Petersburg, for running an organized retail theft scheme. Robert, a former pastor at The Rock Church in St. Petersburg, and his wife, Jaclyn, operated a ‘transformation center’ purporting to provide counseling and assistance to individuals recovering from drug addiction.

“These fraudsters hid their true motives behind faith and charity to launder proceeds from a large-scale criminal enterprise,” said Attorney General James Uthmeier. “I am grateful to Ag Law Enforcement, FDLE, Chief Assistant Statewide Prosecutor Paul Dontenville, and Assistant Statewide Prosecutors Eric Ross and Gianna Fina for ensuring that justice was served in this case.”

“These verdicts show exactly what happens when Florida refuses to be a soft-on-crime state,” said Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson. “Our Agricultural Law Enforcement agents were proud to lead the investigation in this case alongside the Attorney General’s Office, FDLE, and Home Depot to dismantle a long-running retail theft ring that victimized businesses across multiple counties. Organized retail crime drives up costs for everyday Floridians and undermines public safety. We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to protect law-abiding families, support our law enforcement, and deliver real results for the people we serve.” Continue reading →