Officer(s) Involved: Former Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) Trooper Joshua Grady Earrey.
Synopsis: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested two Florida law enforcement officers on charges of involvement with illegal drugs after both had worked together on a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) task force. In addition to Trooper Earrey, former Nassau County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant James Darrell Hickox was also arrested.
The FBI says Earrey has been addicted to oxycodone since 2021 and had been buying drugs from confidential informants (CI), including his own CI. The FBI also says Earrey obtained 43 legal prescriptions for oxycodone, hydrocodone, and a form of morphine.
The FBI found probable cause to arrest Earrey for being an “unlawful user or addict of controlled substances” in possession of a firearm. Earrey and Hickox stole more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana from evidence and covered up the theft by submitting falsified paperwork showing that the drugs had been destroyed.
Earrey also used his corrupt activities to obtain illegal drugs for his own use. On one occasion, he traded cases of ammunition that he had diverted from the Florida Highway Patrol to a convicted murderer in exchange for oxycodone. Despite knowing that his drug addiction made it illegal for him to have firearms and ammunition, Earrey continued to possess these items in violation of federal law.
If convicted, Earrey, 44, could face as many as 15 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Earrey is a 22-year veteran of the Florida Highway Patrol, and was named a Florida Trooper of the Year in 2009. He was assigned to the DEA task force in 2020.
Outcome: Earrey pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute narcotics, one count of conspiring to defraud the United States, and one count of possessing firearms and ammunition while an unlawful user of controlled substances. Earrey faces a combined maximum penalty of 60 years in federal prison on these offenses, including a minimum mandatory sentence of at least 5 years for the drug distribution conspiracy. He has further agreed to forfeit the firearms and ammunition involved in these offenses. At time of publication, Earrey has not been sentenced.
