CONVICTED FELON PLEADS GUILTY TO DISTRIBUTING DRUGS WHILE ARMED

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA - Carlton Shoemaker, 51, of Pensacola, Florida, pleaded guilty in federal court to three counts of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: "Thanks to the outstanding work of our state and federal law enforcement partners, this career criminal has been removed from our streets and there will be one fewer drug trafficker flooding our community with deadly drugs. My office is committed to fulfilling the promise made by President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to Take Back America from the criminals victimizing our communities, and this successful prosecution is yet another step toward that goal."

Court documents reflect that Shoemaker sold methamphetamine and cocaine from a motel room in Pensacola, Florida. When law enforcement executed a search warrant at Shoemaker's motel room in May 2025, officers located cocaine, marijuana, two firearms, ammunition, and other items indicative of drug distribution. Shoemaker is a convicted felon and has multiple prior convictions, including Burglary, Grand Theft, Possession of Cocaine, and Grand Theft of a Firearm.

Shoemaker faces up to life imprisonment.

The case involved a joint investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jessica S. Etherton and Christopher Patterson.

Sentencing is scheduled for December 11, 2025, at 10:00 am at the United States Courthouse in Pensacola before United States District Judge T. Kent Wetherell, II.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline ) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation's principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney's Office, Northern District of Florida, visit https://http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.