Tallahassee, Florida – Nicholas Michael Freeman, 48, of Perry, Florida, pleaded guilty in federal court to possession of cocaine, crack cocaine, and 5 grams or more of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “This repeat offender clearly did not learn his lesson from his prior stint in federal prison, so my office will send him back behind bars to ensure he can’t continue to peddle deadly drugs on our streets. We will continue to aggressively prosecute any and all drug dealers operating in the Northern District of Florida to deliver on the promise of Operation Take Back America that our citizens deserve to live in safe, drug-free communities.”
Court documents reflect that a Perry Police Department officer speaking with a group of individuals around a burn barrel observed the defendant manipulating a plastic jeweler’s baggie commonly used for street sales of narcotics, containing what the officer believed to be a pill. The officer handcuffed the defendant, removed the baggie from his pocket and determined that the suspected pill was actually a piece of crack cocaine. The defendant was arrested and officers searched the fanny pack he had been wearing, finding 57 small baggies containing methamphetamine, 99 small baggies containing crack and powder cocaine, and 25 small baggies and 9 large sandwich style bags containing synthetic cannabinoids.
The defendant faces at least 10 years in prison and a maximum potential sentence of life imprisonment for his current charges. This represents an enhanced sentence because the defendant was previously convicted in 2013 of Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine and Cocaine Base and sentenced to 84 months in federal prison.
The case involved an investigation by the Perry Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James A. McCain.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 3, 2026, at 2:00 pm, in the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee before United States District Judge Robert L. Hinkle.
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.
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 https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl .
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Northern District of Florida — U.S. Department of Justice press release.