Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the filling of a criminal complaint charging Jack Bradley Rice (35, Pinellas Park) with possessing with the intent to distribute a substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine and for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. If convicted, Rice faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
According to the complaint, between January and March 2020, Rice, who is a convicted felon, distributed narcotics from a motel in Pinellas Park. On March 28, 2020, Rice was observed leaving the motel and placing several bags and a backpack inside his vehicle. A search of his car later revealed two firearms, fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine. Later that night, agents executed a search warrant at Rice’s house. From inside a bedroom wall, they recovered an AR-15 rifle and a one-hundred round drum, loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition. The agents also recovered a bulletproof vest, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia, including a hydraulic press.
A criminal complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
The case is part of the Middle District of Florida’s anti-opioid strategy to combat opioid trafficking and abuse. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes.
