Press Release
MARIANNA MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO INTRODUCING MARIJUANA INTO TALLAHASSEE FEDERAL DETENTION CENTER
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Florida
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Bertram Williams, 50, of Marianna, Florida pleaded guilty in federal court to introducing contraband into the Federal Detention Center (FDC) at Tallahassee. The plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “I want to commend the outstanding work by our federal law enforcement partners to stop this offender before he could bring illegal contraband into the federal prison where he was already serving a criminal sentence. Thanks to this successful prosecution by my office, he will now have an extended stay behind bars.”
According to court records, the defendant is currently incarcerated at FDC Tallahassee. On April 13, 2025, after the defendant had a visitation session, Bureau of Prison (BOP) staff searched him. While searching the defendant’s left boot, BOP staff discovered two, cylinder shaped, plastic tubs that were in the cut fingertips of a latex glove. Inside one cylinder, staff discovered marijuana. In the second cylinder, staff discovered a rolled-up piece of paper saturated in a substance, which field tested positive for synthetic marijuana. The substances were also tested at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement laboratory, which confirmed the substance contained marijuana.
Williams faces up to five years’ imprisonment and one year of supervised release when he is sentenced.
The case involved a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jessica Etherton and Eric W. Welch.
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 theU.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.
Contact
United States Attorney’s Office
Northern District of Florida
USAFLN.Press.Office@usdoj.gov
X: @USAO_NDFL
Updated November 24, 2025