DAYTONA BEACH, Florida – U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza today sentenced Maxwell Garvice Johnson (29, Ormond Beach) to 30 years in federal prison for his involvement in a drug distribution conspiracy. The court also sentenced Robert Lee Hamilton, Jr. (36, Daytona Beach) to 20 years’ imprisonment. Johnson had pleaded guilty in February 2021. Hamilton had pleaded guilty in December 2020.
According to court documents, from April 3 through July 30, 2020, Johnson, Hamilton, and their conspirators worked to distribute methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl-laced heroin, and cocaine in the Daytona Beach area. During the investigation, and in a series of searches and arrests, on July 30, 2020, law enforcement officers recovered and identified more than 2 kilograms of fentanyl-laced heroin, over 500 grams of cocaine, and at least 155 grams of methamphetamine that was being distributed by members of Johnson’s organization, as well as loaded firearms and tens of thousands of dollars in drug proceeds. The court ruled that both Hamilton and Johnson’s sentences reflected their leadership and managerial roles in the drug trafficking organization, their maintenance of multiple stash houses for drug distribution, and their possession of firearms.
Eight of nine of the conspirators have pleaded guilty; seven have been sentenced as follows:
The court has delayed the sentencing of Shakia Flagler, who pleaded guilty on January 13, 2021. A final defendant, Gena Marie Walker, is scheduled for trial in July 2021.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Daytona Beach Police Department, and the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dana E. Hill.