MOTHER AND SON PLED GUILTY TO CONSPIRACY TO DISTRIBUTE METHAMPHETAMINE FROM ARIZONA TO FLORIDA

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – Kanethia Tremeka Steele, 51, of Tampa, Florida, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Her son and codefendant, Kenneth Steele, 30, of Phoenix, Arizona, pled guilty to the same charge on May 7, 2025. The guilty pleas were announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “The importation and distribution of addictive and deadly narcotics like methamphetamine is a scourge on large and small communities throughout North Florida. My office is committed to fulfill the promise of President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to Take Back America by identifying and aggressively prosecuting drug traffickers like this mother and son who would profit from poisoning our fellow citizens. The elimination of this drug trafficking enterprise is the result of the incredible work of our law enforcement partners.”

Court documents reflect that over a three-year period Kanethia Steele obtained kilogram quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine from Arizona-based drug suppliers on behalf of drug traffickers operating in the counties of Alachua, Dixie, Gilchrist, and Levy. In addition to her packaging the methamphetamine, Steele enlisted the assistance of her son, Kenneth, to transport multi-kilogram shipments of methamphetamine secreted in luggage on commercial flights from Phoenix, Arizona to Orlando, Florida. At the direction of his mother, Kenneth Steele made three flights, transporting over 40 pounds of methamphetamine that was distributed in North Florida.  

Sentencing for Kenneth Steele is scheduled for July 22, at 2:00 p.m.  Kanethia Steele will be sentenced on September 30, 2025, at 3:00 p.m.  The defendants will be sentenced at the United States Courthouse in Gainesville before Chief United States District Judge Alan C. Winsor.

The convictions were the result of a joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Former Assistant United States Attorney Corey Smith and Assistant United States Attorney Jason Coody.

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