MIAMI (DDN) – A Florida police officer has been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison after pleading guilty to stealing drugs, cash, and firearms from federal investigations, as well as admitting that he once swapped cocaine seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration for a 3D-printed fake kilo.
James Hickox’s sentence, handed down Monday in Jacksonville federal court, is the harshest yet imposed on more than 20 DEA agents and task force officers charged in recent years with crimes ranging from perjury and assault to wire fraud and money laundering on behalf of the same drug cartels the DEA is accused of combating.
Hickox, a Nassau County Sheriff’s Office sergeant, and Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Joshua Earrey were arrested in 2023 on allegations of drug possession with intent to sell. Both were assigned to a DEA-led task team in Jacksonville.
As part of his guilty agreement, Hickox admitted to obtaining more than $420,000 for frequently stealing and selling marijuana, cocaine, and other substances confiscated as part of DEA operations, then falsely claiming the evidence was destroyed by standard protocol.
He also admitted that in 2022, he swapped a kilogram of cocaine confiscated by the DEA for a block manufactured from a 3D printer sprinkled with actual cocaine to make it appear authentic. Hickox claimed he subsequently provided the real cocaine to a Jacksonville narcotics trafficker, who sold it for about $20,000. Hickox received almost half of that sum.
Hickox’s father stated that the stress of his work with the DEA, working with criminal informants daily, and being surrounded by vast sums of cash and drugs all contributed to his son’s spiral into crime. He stated that the DEA must give mental health treatment to adequately select its workers and avoid future criminals from exploiting the public’s confidence.
“They have to live two lives,” his father, James Lee Hickox, told WJXT-TV in Jacksonville. “You’re out slinging dope for the DEA and then you go home and be a family man.”
Hickox, 38, also claimed to have given one informant over 550 pounds (250 kilograms) of marijuana and received between $200 and $400 for each pound sold.
According to the plea agreement, he and Earrey orchestrated a phony traffic check to capture what they believed to be 6 kilograms (13 pounds) of fentanyl arriving from another state.
When officials investigated Hickox’s home, they discovered cocaine, methamphetamine pills, a powdered substance containing fentanyl, and multiple firearms recovered during law enforcement investigations. Narcotics were discovered in a converted garage called “Gator’s Man Cave.”
In his guilty deal, Hickox admits to habitually breaking into DEA evidence bags, stealing thousands of dollars in cash, and then resealing or repacking the currency into another heat-sealed bag with forged signatures to mask his tracks.
“Law enforcement officers who act as if they are above the law dishonor the badge and the citizens they swore to protect,” FBI Jacksonville Special Agent in Charge Kristin Rehler said in a statement.
Attorneys for Hickox did not respond to an email requesting comment.
Earrey is due to be sentenced in April.
Reference: A Florida officer who pleaded guilty to stealing seized DEA drugs gets 17 years in prison
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