Homeland Security Task Force investigation leads to guilty plea by Pensacola armed drug trafficker (DOJ)

Pensacola, Florida - Marquis Dy'Monte Bethea 32, of Pensacola, pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the plea today.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: "This case demonstrates the excellent investigative work by the Escambia County Sheriff's Office, with support from our federal law enforcement partners, to identify and remove an armed drug trafficker from our streets. The Homeland Security Task Force is continuing to deliver wins for public safety in the Northern District of Florida, and my office remains committed to aggressively prosecuting these armed drug traffickers until our citizens get the safe, drug-free streets they deserve."

Court documents reflect that in September 2025, the Escambia County Sheriff's Office conducted a traffic stop for an infraction. The defendant was the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle. After a drug detection K9 positively alerted to the presence of narcotics, law enforcement searched the vehicle. During the search, deputies located a loaded pistol, $10,350 cash, and over 200 grams of methamphetamine.

Bethea faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment, and up to life imprisonment, on the drug distribution count, and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years' imprisonment, and up to life imprisonment, for the firearm count, consecutive to the sentence imposed on Count 1.

Sentencing is scheduled before United States District Judge T. Kent Wetherell, II in Pensacola, Florida on September 24, 2026.

The plea was the result of a joint investigation by the Escambia County Sheriff's Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey M. Tharp.

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 FloridaLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. website. For more information about the United States Attorney's Office, Northern District of Florida, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl.