Jacksonville Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison for Drug Offenses

Jacksonville, Florida - Jamal Jason James (40, Jacksonville) has been sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard to 10 years in federal prison for participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy and possessing MDMA with the intent to distribute it. James pleaded guilty on December 12, 2025. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.

According to court documents, on July 29, 2024, members of the Jacksonville Sherriff's Office responded to Ivy Street in Jacksonville regarding a call for a male lying in the road. When officers arrived, they observed James lying outside the open door of a vehicle used by him. While arranging for aid to tend to James, officers noticed a small bag of a rock-like substance in the vehicle, which laboratory testing later revealed was 6 grams of MDMA, an amount inconsistent with personal use. James was placed in handcuffs and searched. Officers found more than $20,000 in cash on James and inside the vehicle.

After James was arrested, he was briefly incarcerated at the Duval County Jail where he made a series of phone calls to Brian Brightman and Anthony Smokes. The calls concerned finding and moving drugs belonging to James being stored in at least one trap house accessible by Brightman and Smokes. They also discussed collecting drug debts owed to James by other members of the conspiracy. In related cases, Brightman and Smokes previously pleaded guilty to federal drug offenses and are awaiting sentencing.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Nassau County Sherriff's Office, and the Jacksonville Sherriff's Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rachel Lasry.