Tallahassee, Florida – Mario Swanston of Port St. Joe, 45, Shannon Jarbar Clayton of Panama City, 45, Santana Wyvonne Harris of Ellenwood, Georgia, 41, Shontel Reshard Fedd of Port St. Joe, 48, and Elizabeth Gray of Panama City, 36, pleaded guilty as charged in federal court to charges in connection with the unlawful distribution of controlled substances. The pleas were announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
Swanston, Clayton, and Harris were charged with and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana. Fedd and Gray were charged with and pleaded guilty to distribution of marijuana.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “Dismantling this drug trafficking network required close collaboration and cooperation between our state and federal law enforcement officers, and I am proud to report their hard work has paid off with these successful prosecutions of the traffickers. The Homeland Security Task Force launched by President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi will continue to identify, target, and dismantle drug trafficking networks like this one, and my office will follow up with aggressive prosecutions of the traffickers to ensure the citizens of the Northern District of Florida get the safe, drug-free communities they deserve.”
According to court records, between November 2023 and April 2024, Swanston conspired with Clayton and Harris to obtain cocaine and marijuana from the State of Georgia for distribution in the Northern District of Florida. During a traffic stop of Harris, officers located and seized 1,497 grams of cocaine. When officers attempted a subsequent traffic stop of Swanston’s vehicle, Swanston threw a bag containing 222 grams of cocaine out of his vehicle’s window and fled from officers. Officers ultimately stopped Swanston’s vehicle and arrested him, after which they recovered the discarded cocaine.
During the investigation, agents determined that Gray conspired with Swanston and others to store and distribute marijuana at Swanston’s direction. During January 2024, Fedd flew into the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport via commercial airline, carrying over 5 kilograms of marijuana inside of his luggage, which Fedd and Swanston conspired to distribute in the Northern District of Florida.
Sentencing hearings are scheduled before United States District Judge Mark E. Walker in the Federal Courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida on the following dates and times:
Mario Swanston is scheduled for sentencing on April 17, 2026, at 3:00 pm;
Shannon Jarbar Clayton is scheduled for sentencing on March 19, 2026, at 1:00 pm;
Santana Wyvonne Harris is scheduled for sentencing on April 2, 2026, at 3:00 pm;
Shontel Reshard Fedd is scheduled for sentencing on March 30, 2026, at 11:00 am; and
Elizabeth Gray is scheduled for sentencing on March 20, 2026, at 11:00 am.
The pleas were the result of a joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from Bay County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Highway Patrol, the Gulf County Sheriff’s Office, the Panama City Police Department, and the Springfield Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph A. Ravelo.
This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF comprises agents and officers from multiple agencies with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida.
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.