Jacksonville, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Brandon Corey Skeith (40, Jacksonville) today pleaded guilty to possessing fentanyl and cocaine base with the intent to distribute it and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Skeith faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years, and up to life, in federal prison.
According to the plea agreement and court documents, Skeith sold drugs out of a motel near Dunn Avenue in Jacksonville. In April 2022, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit observed Skeith selling fentanyl from the motel and obtained a search warrant for his room. During the execution of the search warrant, officers seized fentanyl packaged for sale, cocaine base, scales, beakers, and a loaded Smith and Wesson 9mm pistol. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement analyzed the pistol and found Skeith’s DNA on the firearm.
This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Talbot. Assistant United States Attorney Mai Tran is handling forfeiture of the firearm and ammunition.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.