PENSACOLA MAN CHARGED WITH DRUG TRAFFICKING

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Adrian Dion Pettaway Jr., 24, of Pensacola, was indicted by a federal grand jury charging him with distribution of a controlled substance. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the charges today.

Pettaway appeared for his arraignment in federal court before United States Magistrate Judge Hope T. Cannon on December 22, 2025, in Pensacola, Florida. Jury trial is scheduled for February 17, 2026, at 8:30 am before District Court Judge T. Kent Wetherell, II.

If convicted, Pettaway faces between five to 40 years’ imprisonment.

The case involved a joint investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey Tharp is prosecuting the case.

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 at trial.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America 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, human and drug trafficking.

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 available 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 https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl.