JACKSONVILLE — Five Jacksonville residents have been sentenced to a combined eight decades in federal prison in separate cases involving a string of armed store robberies and a fentanyl trafficking operation that ended with a high-speed chase through a residential neighborhood, U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announced.
U.S. District Judge Jordan E. Pratt sentenced four members of a robbery crew — Tresonda Benefield, 26; Nathanial Carter, 25; Jackeri Lewis, 28; and Jakeithiyan Daniel, 25 — for robbing four retail stores in Jacksonville between April 9 and May 1, 2024. Benefield, Carter and Lewis each received 16 years and 1 month in federal prison. Daniel received 14 years and 6 months. All four were ordered to pay restitution for the more than $11,000 they collectively stole.
According to court documents, Benefield surveilled each store before the robberies and drove the other participants to the locations minutes before closing. The crew approached employees wearing masks and brandishing firearms, forcing them back inside to unlock safes and hand over cash. Benefield, Carter and Lewis participated in all four robberies; Daniel joined the final two. Lewis pleaded guilty on June 9, 2025, while Benefield, Carter and Daniel pleaded guilty on July 8, 2025. The case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Cannizzaro.
In a separate case before the same judge, Owens Coleman Parker Jr., 51, of Jacksonville, was sentenced to 17 years and 6 months in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Parker pleaded guilty on February 24, 2026. Court documents show Parker attempted to transport a vehicle containing a hidden compartment holding more than 6 kilograms of fentanyl and more than 7 kilograms of methamphetamine. When law enforcement tried to stop him, Parker fled in a high-speed chase through a residential neighborhood, then abandoned the vehicle and ran before police apprehended him.
Parker admitted he knew he was picking up a load of drugs and intended to transport them to another location for payment. After his initial arrest, Parker was released on bond but failed to appear in court and fled to Mexico before ultimately surrendering to authorities.
“This case illustrates our Fentanyl Free America enforcement efforts,” said Special Agent in Charge Daniel Escobar of the DEA Tampa Field Division. “Getting this poison out of our communities is the DEA mission. Period.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the Parker case. All five defendants have been ordered to report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons to begin serving their sentences.