A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration task force officer who stole seized cocaine and switched it with a 3D-printed version in order for the theft to go undetected has been sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison.
James Darrell Hickox committed multiple federal offences including conspiring to distribute narcotics, conspiring to defraud the United States, and tax evasion, according to news releases from the United States Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on Monday.
The 38-year-old, who pleaded guilty on May 15, 2024, committed his crimes with a co-conspirator while he was working as a deputy with the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office and as a DEA officer from 2017 to 2023.
Hickox stole money and drugs — including 1,000 pounds of marijuana — that were seized as evidence during criminal investigations, the attorney’s office said. He also gave the drugs to others to sell on his behalf. He hid nearly half a million American dollars — $420,000 — that he received as part of his criminal activities from the IRS.
“(Hickox and his co-conspirator) had covered up the theft by submitting falsified paperwork showing that the marijuana had been destroyed. Similarly, they stole a kilogram of cocaine from evidence and then gave it to a drug dealer to sell for them,” per the news release.
Hickox went to extreme lengths to hide what he was doing. He swapped out a kilogram of cocaine from evidence with a 3D-printed version, according to court documents, per the Associated Press. He sprinkled the 3D-printed brick with real cocaine so that it appeared to be real, he reportedly confessed in 2022.
Upon searching his home, authorities found 263 grams of a powder containing fentanyl and cocaine. They discovered a rifle that had illegally been modified to be used as a machine gun. They also found four other guns that should have been in evidence or destroyed.
At his workspace at the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office, authorities found 260 pills that contained methamphetamine.
At the sentencing hearing, Hickox referred to himself as a “guilty man,” Florida news outlet News4JAX reported.
“One of the many regrets and bad decisions that has led me here. I want to take the time to apologize to friends, family, the U.S. government, and coworkers,” he said.
He told Judge Wendy Berger that his actions were due to a receiving a cancer diagnosis and being afraid of not being able to provide for his family if he died, per the news outlet.
Berger said she didn’t understand Hickox.
“I recognize the cancer diagnosis and health issues, but I don’t see how that causes an individual to engage in what you did. I’m having a hard time with that,” she said. “As a sworn law enforcement officer, you disgraced law enforcement and engaged in conduct that broke the public trust. Shamed your family and community and put them at risk.”
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