PENSACOLA MAN SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON FOR MACHINEGUN POSSESSION AND DRUG TRAFFICKING OFFENSES

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Antoine Booker, Jr., 21, of Pensacola, Florida, was sentenced to nine years in federal prison for trafficking in large amounts of marijuana and possessing a loaded machinegun in Escambia County. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

“The public should rest assured that law enforcement will not stand for armed drug traffickers endangering citizens in our streets.  If you possess a machinegun to protect your drug trafficking operations, you should know that federal prison awaits you,” stated United States Attorney Heekin. 

Court documents reflect that on December 6, 2023, Booker fled from the Florida Highway Patrol at a high rate of speed during an attempted traffic stop in Pensacola.  After driving down the wrong side of the road and throwing drugs out of his window, Booker collided with a curb on Pensacola Boulevard, and his vehicle overturned.  The vehicle chase involved Booker driving approximately 100 miles per hour on heavily trafficked streets.  As law enforcement approached the overturned vehicle, Booker crawled out and was caught in possession of the firearm.  The firearm was a Glock 9 millimeter pistol, which was modified with a “conversion device” that rendered it an automatic firing machinegun.  The machinegun contained 32 rounds of ammunition in its chamber and extended high-capacity magazine.  Law enforcement also located a large amount of marijuana, multiple digital scales for weighing and distributing the marijuana, and other illicit substances.

“Had it not been for law enforcement’s training and determination, this armed suspect would have undoubtedly wreaked havoc in Northwest Florida,” said ATF Tampa Field Division’s Special Agent in Charge Kirk Howard. “We are proud of the partnerships we’ve built with Florida Highway Patrol, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and our federal prosecutors.”

The case involved a joint investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Florida Highway Patrol; the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office; and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David L. Goldberg and Jessica S. Etherton.

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.