Five Walton County Residents Charged In Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – A federal grand jury returned an indictment, charging five defendants with federal drug trafficking offenses. The indictment was announced by Lawrence Keefe, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

The defendants are:

• Kadeem Ingram, 29, DeFuniak Springs, Florida;

• Kenneth Ingram, 59, DeFuniak Springs, Florida;

• Terrell Burdette, 63, DeFuniak Springs, Florida;

• Sidney McGhee, 30, DeFuniak Springs, Florida; and

• Francis Muldowney, 59, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida

The indictment and arrests resulted from an ongoing Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Operation which targeted a drug trafficking organization alleged to be responsible for the distribution of cocaine and cocaine base throughout the northcentral panhandle of Florida since the beginning of 2019.

The charged defendants face penalties ranging up to 40 years imprisonment and fines up to $10,000,000.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, the Lynn Haven Police Department, the Panama City Police Department, and the Panama City Beach Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Daffin.

The prosecution, part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Trask Force (OCDETF) OCDETF, is a joint federal, state, and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to take down criminal organizations and seize assets.

An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html