A Panama City man set to go to trial Thursday for Trafficking in Methamphetamine (more than 28) grams instead entered an open plea Wednesday and was sentenced to 15 years in prison, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
Lajarvis Santez Allen, 40, of Panama City, entered an open plea to the charge, meaning Circuit Court Judge Shonna Young Gay would decide the sentence without an arranged agreement. The charge carries a minimum-mandatory 7 years in prison and up to 30 years.
After hearing from Prosecutor Zachary VanDyke, the defendant, and family members of the defendant, Gay handed down a sentence of 15 years.
“The State would say this isn’t the kind of person we want out on the streets of Florida, and that you sentence him to at least 15 years in the Department of Corrections,” VanDyke said.
VanDyke was prepared to call witnesses and present evidence that Panama City Beach Police Department detectives developed information the defendant was delivering a large amount of methamphetamine to a location on the beach on Feb. 15, 2024.
The defendant was under surveillance and was detained after pulling into a driveway in the area where the transaction was supposed to occur. Detectives said the defendant was moving “furtively” and appeared to be concealing an item in his pants while still in the car.
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A drug-detecting K-9 alerted to the presence of drugs in the vehicle, which was searched without success. But the defendant was found to have about 2 ounces of methamphetamine hidden in his boxer shorts.
Basford thanked the Panama City Beach Police Department for its pre-emptive work that kept the methamphetamine from reaching the streets.
For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.