Homeland Security Task Force Investigation Delivers Federal Jury Conviction of Pensacola Armed Drug Trafficker

Pensacola, Florida - Jovon "Playa Pat" Booker, 33, of Pensacola, Florida, was convicted by a jury in federal court on one count of discharging a handgun in relation to a drug trafficking crime, and a separate count of possessing firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Prior to the jury being selected in Pensacola, Booker pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and five counts of money laundering through high end jewelry purchases. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida announced the convictions.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: "This case exemplified the unified commitment of our state and federal law enforcement partners to keep our communities safe by ridding our streets of a violent, drug peddling thug. Thanks to the aggressive prosecution by my office and outstanding trial work by my prosecutors, his reign of terror has come to an end and he'll spend his days locked behind federal bars where he belongs."

At trial, the jury received evidence that Booker ran a multi-million dollar interstate drug trafficking network wherein he transported hundreds of kilograms of highly potent marijuana from the Seattle area into Pensacola, Florida, between 2020 - 2025. Booker used the proceeds of his crimes to purchase vehicles, such as a Lamborghini Urus, as well as diamond encrusted jewelry and Cartier and Patek Philippe watches. The jury heard evidence that Booker did not report a single dollar of legitimate income to the government during this timeframe. During the course of his drug trafficking conspiracy, on May 12, 2024, at the Paparazzi Bistro & Lounge in Pensacola, Booker shot one of his own co-conspirators at point-blank range in an attempt to murder him over a drug debt owed to Booker. At a later date, in July 2025, multiple law enforcement agencies executed a federal search warrant at Booker's residence and located a loaded assault rifle he possessed to protect all the controlled substances in the house. The jury received all of this evidence and found Booker guilty as charged.

Booker is scheduled for sentencing before United States District Judge M. Casey Rodgers at the United States Courthouse in Pensacola, Florida, on November 5, 2026, at 9:00 a.m.

Booker faces and mandatory minimum 20 years up to life imprisonment on the charges. In addition, law enforcement seized over $500,000 of jewelry, vehicles, firearms, and United States currency from Booker that will all be forfeited to the government.

The case was jointly investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Escambia County Sheriff's Office, and the Pensacola Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David L. Goldberg and Thomas Geeker.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF comprises agents and officers from multiple agencies with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida.

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 FloridaLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. website. For more information about the United States Attorney's Office, Northern District of Florida, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl.