A man found laying on a bed near a bowl of methamphetamine and a larger baggie of the drug was found guilty as charged Tuesday with Trafficking in 200+ grams of Methamphetamine, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

A jury deliberated for an hour and a half before returning the verdict against Christian Samuel Stepp. Circuit Court Judge Dustin Stephenson set sentencing for Sept. 28. Under Florida’s enhanced drug trafficking statutes, the charge is a First-Degree Felony punishable by a minimum-mandatory 15 years in prison and up to 30 years.

“This is a significant amount of methamphetamine that the Bay County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Division got to before it hit the streets,” said lead Prosecutor Christopher Walters. “It is extremely harmful and the people bringing it into Bay County will continue to learn that sooner or later they will get caught and prosecuted.”

Walters, with Prosecutor Ryan Phillips, called five witnesses and presented evidence that included the drugs, text messages between the defendant and others, and bodycam of the search warrant being served.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sheriff’s Office’s Special SID team had been investigating the owner of the camper, and now a co-defendant, for drug trafficking before obtaining a search warrant that was served March 14, 2025, near Southport.

Four people were found inside. The defendant was the only person in the bedroom with the drugs. Although he told investigators he only smoked marijuana, a meth pipe with meth residue was recovered from the saddlebag of his motorcycle.

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Two of the co-defendants – the owner of the camper included – testified against the defendant. The camper’s owner said he was out of town working that day and the defendant arrived with the drugs before he returned home. He described himself as a “low-level” dealer being supplied by the defendant.

Basford thanked the Sheriff’s Office for its proactive investigative work that stopped the methamphetamine from being sold on the street level.

For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.