Department of Justice

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven has sentenced James Carnley (58, Brooksville) to 10 years and 10 months in federal prison for selling methamphetamine and possessing firearms in furtherance of his drug trafficking offense. The court also ordered Carnley to forfeit three firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and $812, which had all been used by Carnley to facilitate his drug activities.

Carnley had pleaded guilty on March 6, 2020.

According to evidence presented during the sentencing hearing, Carnley had been selling ounce and kilogram quantities of methamphetamine out of his mobile home in Pasco County for years. On two dates in July 2018, the Pasco Sheriff’s Office (PSO) used a confidential informant to make quarter-ounce purchases of methamphetamine from Carnley. In August 2018, the PSO executed a search warrant at Carnley’s residence and seized approximately two ounces of methamphetamine, three firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and assorted paraphernalia used to package drugs for sale and consumption. At the time of Carnley’s arrest, he had been selling approximately a kilogram of methamphetamine per week.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael M. Gordon.

This is another case prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program (PSN), which is a nationwide, crime reduction strategy aimed at decreasing violent  crime in communities. It involves a comprehensive approach to public safety —  one that includes investigating and prosecuting crimes, along with prevention and reentry efforts. In the Middle District of Florida, Acting U.S. Attorney Karin Hoppmann coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials. 

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