Tampa, FL - U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday has sentenced James Bookman (30, Largo) to 15 years and 8 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute and distribution of fentanyl and methamphetamine. Bookman pleaded guilty on October 2, 2024.

According to court documents and statements presented at the sentencing hearing, Bookman, from the Middle District of Florida and elsewhere, using a dark web marketplace, distributed significant amounts of fentanyl (disguised and sold as oxycodone pills), methamphetamine (disguised and sold as Adderall pills), and other drugs, throughout the United States. One such sale resulted in the fentanyl overdose death of an internet customer in Montana.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Boston), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Montana State Medical Examiner's Office, the Butte-Silver Bow (Montana) Law Enforcement Department, and the Mantatee County Sheriff's Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jim Preston.