A case that started when Bay County Sheriff’s Office deputies serving a search warrant found syringes, scales, heroin and methamphetamine, ended with a 25-year prison sentence for the defendant Friday, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
Christopher Goldsby was found guilty of Trafficking in Amphetamine (more than 28 grams but less than 200 grams) and Trafficking in Illegal Drugs (heroin, 4 grams or more) during a 1-day trial Friday. Jurors considering the testimony and witnesses put on by Prosecutors Dustin Miller and Nicole Reed took about 2 hours to return their verdict.
Chief Circuit Court Judge Christopher Patterson then sentenced Goldsby, who has a history of drug-related offenses, to 25 years in prison on each charge, with the sentences to be served concurrently. The first charge carries a 7-year minimum-mandatory requirement and a $100,000 fine. The second charge carries a 3-year minimum-mandatory requirement and a $50,000 fine.
“It’s a good day for Bay County and we got a lot of drugs off the street,” Prosecutor Miller said, noting the 34 grams of methamphetamine and 6.6 grams of heroin sheriff’s investigators found during the search. “Sgt. Jeremy Head not only put together a great case, but was a great witness for the State and a key to the victory today that led to this defendant heading to prison for 25 years.”
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Co-counsel Reed added this was not the defendant’s first brush with the law.
“This defendant had a history of drug sales and possession and dealing in narcotics, and he was providing it to at least one drug user,” she said. “Today’s verdict shows that the Sheriff’s Office and State Attorney’s Office do not take these cases lightly.”
Evidence and testimony showed that when the search warrant was served on the Youngstown residence in May 2020, syringes and paraphernalia were quickly found. But Lt. Doug Smith “conducted a very thorough search,” Reed said, and found a quantify of narcotics hidden in a vitamin supplement bottle in the kitchen.
Neighbors and others had complained and reported that the residence was being used to sell drugs, which led to the Sheriff’s Office’s investigation.
Basford thanked the Sheriff’s Office for both its proactive approach and thoroughness in putting the case together.
For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@14sa.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.