A Circuit Court Judge Monday sentenced a woman to 12 years in prison, one month after a jury found her guilty of Trafficking in Methamphetamine, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
Jacqueline Michelle Long, 48, of Panama City was found guilty of Trafficking in Methamphetamine (28 grams or more) and Possession of Paraphernalia April 4 after jurors deliberated for about 15 minutes.
Monday, Circuit Court Judge Devin Collier Monday sentenced her to 12 years in prison and she was fined $100,000. Under Florida’s drug trafficking laws, the defendant will have to serve a minimum-mandatory 7 years in prison for the first-degree felony.
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Prosecutor Josh James called witnesses who testified that a Bay County Sheriff’s Office investigation generated enough evidence for them to obtain a search warrant, which they served on May 7, 2021. The defendant and a male co-defendant were present.
Two Sheriff’s Office investigators testified they found about 34 grams of Methamphetamine in two baggies, hundreds of smaller baggies for distributing the drug, cash, and digital scales.
In bodycam footage played for jurors, the defendant stated the drugs were hers and. “there ain’t no more to find, you found it all.”
Basford thanked the BCSO investigators for the thoroughness of their case and the strong evidence they gathered.
For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.