James Darrell Hickox, a former sergeant with the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office and former Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force Officer, was sentenced to 17 years and 6 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to multiple federal offenses tied to drug distribution, public corruption, fraud, and tax evasion.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, United States District Judge Wendy W. Berger sentenced Hickox on January 27, 2025, for conspiring to distribute narcotics, conspiring to defraud the United States, and tax evasion. The court also ordered Hickox to forfeit or abandon money, firearms, and ammunition connected to the offenses.
Hickox had previously pleaded guilty on May 15, 2024. Federal prosecutors said that while Hickox was employed as a Nassau County deputy sheriff and serving as a DEA Task Force Officer, he and a co-conspirator engaged in extensive corrupt activity from 2017 through 2023.
Federal Prosecutors Say Hickox Stole Drugs, Cash, and Evidence
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Hickox and his co-conspirator stole money and illegal drugs that had been seized as evidence during criminal investigations. Prosecutors said the stolen drugs included fentanyl, cocaine, and more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana.
According to federal court documents summarized by prosecutors, Hickox and the co-conspirator provided stolen drugs to others to sell on their behalf. They also allegedly covered up the theft of marijuana by submitting falsified paperwork claiming that the marijuana had been destroyed. Prosecutors said they also stole a kilogram of cocaine from evidence and gave it to a drug dealer to sell for them.
Federal authorities also said Hickox hid more than $420,000 in cash from the Internal Revenue Service that he had received from his criminal activity.
Fentanyl, Cash, Firearms, and Meth Pills Found During Searches
When federal agents searched Hickox’s residence on March 10, 2023, prosecutors said they found approximately 263 grams of powder containing fentanyl, along with cocaine. Prosecutors said Hickox intended to distribute those substances.
Agents also found a rifle that had been illegally modified to function as a machinegun, along with four additional firearms that had been seized during law enforcement investigations and should have been placed into evidence or lawfully destroyed. Prosecutors said Hickox had drilled out and obliterated the serial number on one of the firearms.
Federal agents also located more than $195,000 in cash proceeds from Hickox’s illegal activity. A search of Hickox’s workspace at the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office revealed another 260 pills containing methamphetamine.
From Drug Task Force Officer to Federal Prison
The case is especially serious because Hickox was not an ordinary offender. He was a sworn law enforcement officer assigned to drug enforcement work. According to an earlier U.S. Attorney’s Office announcement, Hickox had been employed with the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office for 17 years and formerly served as a DEA Task Force Officer from March 2014 through September 2022.
The Associated Press reported in March 2023 that Hickox and Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Joshua Earrey were both arrested after having worked with the DEA task force. AP reported that both officers were fired by their agencies.
Local reporting from News4JAX stated that Hickox told the court during sentencing, “I stand here today as a guilty man.” The same report said Judge Berger told Hickox that, as a sworn law enforcement officer, he had disgraced law enforcement and broken the public trust.
Sheriff Says Hickox Betrayed the Badge
Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper condemned Hickox’s conduct in the U.S. Attorney’s Office sentencing announcement.
“He betrayed the oath he took to become a police officer and lost his career. He also let down his co-workers and our community,” Sheriff Leeper said, according to the federal announcement.
FBI Jacksonville Special Agent in Charge Kristin Rehler also criticized the breach of public trust, saying law enforcement officers who act as though they are above the law betray both the badge and the citizens they swore to protect.
Public Trust Damaged by a Drug Dealer With a Badge
The Hickox case is not merely a story about drug trafficking. It is a story about the betrayal of public trust by someone who had been given authority, access, and credibility because of his badge.
Citizens are expected to believe that seized drugs and firearms are properly handled, documented, stored, destroyed, or preserved as evidence. When a law enforcement officer steals from evidence, falsifies paperwork, sells drugs back into the community, and hides criminal proceeds from the IRS, the damage reaches far beyond a single prosecution.
Every honest deputy, trooper, officer, and agent is harmed when one of their own turns drug enforcement into a personal criminal enterprise. Every defendant, victim, witness, and member of the public has reason to question how many cases may have been affected when a drug task force officer becomes part of the drug trade himself.
James Darrell Hickox was given the authority to help remove drugs from the streets. Federal prosecutors say he instead stole those drugs, sold them through others, falsified records, hid the proceeds, and kept weapons that should have been in evidence or destroyed. For that betrayal, he will spend more than 17 years in federal prison.
