MARIANNA MAN FOUND GUILTY OF CONSPIRACY TO POSSESS WITH INTENT TO DISTRIBUTE METHAMPHETAMINE

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Lorenzo Heatrice, 70, was found guilty by a federal jury of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and two counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one involving five grams of methamphetamine and the other involving 50 grams. The guilty verdict was announced by Michelle Spaven, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

In 2023, Heatrice was identified by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office as a methamphetamine distributor. According to evidence presented at trial and court records, between June 2023 and April 2024, Heatrice conspired with other known drug traffickers in the Marianna, Florida area to distribute large amounts of methamphetamine into the community. On two separate occasions in September 2023, Heatrice also sold methamphetamine to a confidential informant.

The conviction was the result of a joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jessica Etherton and Eric Welch.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 11, 2025, at the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee before Chief United States District Judge Mark E. Walker.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline ) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

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 for the Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.