PANAMA CITY MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO RETALIATING AGAINST AND SENDING THREATS TO A FEDERAL INFORMANT

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Thomas Zachary Breeding, 41, of Panama City, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of retaliation against a federal informant and transmission of threatening communications in interstate commerce. The guilty plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “Ensuring the safety of our informants and witnesses against threats of reprisals for their cooperation in our criminal investigations and prosecutions is of critical importance to our success in safeguarding our communities from crime. My office will aggressively prosecute such criminal threats to ensure the brave members of our community who join us in the fight against crime are kept safe from retaliation.”

Court documents reflect that on May 31, 2024, the defendant sent Facebook messages threatening bodily injury to an individual. In the messages, the defendant blamed the individual for sending him to prison, called him a “rat,” and promised to “break” a “knife off” in their “guts.” The defendant sent the threats to retaliate against the individual for having provided information to federal law enforcement as part of a prior federal investigation and prosecution of the defendant for distributing cocaine. The defendant, who was on federal supervised release for that prior case at the time he made the threats, also faces revocation proceedings for violating the terms of his supervision.

Breeding’s sentencing and violation of supervised release hearings are currently set for December 18, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. at the United States Courthouse in Pensacola before United States District Judge T. Kent Wetherell, II. The defendant faces up to 25 years’ imprisonment.

The conviction was the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration with assistance from the Walton County Sheriff’s Office and the Bay County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Alicia H. Forbes.

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.