FLORIDA — A Crescent City man has been sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison for his role in a drug distribution conspiracy.
U.S. District Judge Wendy Berger sentenced Francisco Javier Arroyo, 31, to 5 years and 10 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.
Arroyo had pleaded guilty to the charges on September 25, 2024.
According to court records, from February through July 2021, Arroyo and several co-conspirators were involved in distributing methamphetamine and cocaine in Crescent City and surrounding areas.
Those involved included Alejandro Alvarado (30, Crescent City), Miguel Angel Perez (29, Deland), Jose Martinez (43, Crescent City), Jonathan Arroyo Ontiveros (25, Crescent City), and Noel Bueno Jr. (27, Crescent City).
Investigators say the operation was centered in a Crescent City neighborhood where many of the conspirators lived.
Authorities also identified Miguel Angel Ortiz (29, Crescent City) as a courier responsible for delivering multi-kilogram shipments of methamphetamine from Texas, North Carolina, and Georgia.
Arroyo supplied drugs primarily to Robert Wayne Watson (59, Seville), who then redistributed methamphetamine to mid-level dealers across central Florida.
Other individuals connected to the operation included George Edward Sykes (46, Bunnell), Danny Wayne Holmes (61, Kathleen), Dina Dynnette Kempher (38, Satsuma), and David John Doerr (56, Astor).
The FBI arrested multiple individuals in Crescent City and Seville on July 16, 2021, as part of the drug conspiracy investigation.
Around the same time, Arroyo was arrested in Missouri in connection with a triple homicide that had occurred on July 13, 2021, in Crescent City.
He was later convicted of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder and sentenced to 22 years in Florida state prison.
Following his April 2024conviction, Arroyo was transported to federal court to face drug charges. His federal sentence will begin after he completes his state prison term.
To date, 12 individuals have pleaded guilty and been sentenced to federal prison in connection with the drug conspiracy.
The case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the DEA, Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, Clay County Sheriff’s Office, and Volusia County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dana E. Hill.
This investigation was part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a federal program aimed at dismantling high-level criminal organizations. More information on OCDETF is available at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
