By Steve Neavling
A Florida police officer has been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison after admitting to stealing drugs, cash, and firearms from federal investigations, including swapping a DEA-seized kilogram of cocaine with a fake kilo made from a 3D printer.
James Hickox, a sergeant with the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office, was part of a DEA-led task force in Jacksonville when he routinely stole and sold seized drugs, falsely claiming they had been destroyed. As part of his plea agreement, he admitted to receiving more than $420,000 from selling cocaine, marijuana, and other narcotics.
In 2022, Hickox said he replaced a kilo of seized cocaine with a counterfeit brick dusted with real cocaine to make it appear genuine. He then provided the real drugs to a Jacksonville trafficker, who sold them for about $20,000 – half of which went to Hickox.
Hickox was arrested in 2023 alongside Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Joshua Earrey, who also faces charges of possession with intent to sell drugs. Earrey is scheduled for sentencing in April.
Authorities searching Hickox’s home uncovered cocaine, methamphetamine pills, and fentanyl, along with firearms seized in law enforcement operations. The narcotics were found inside a converted garage labeled “Gator’s Man Cave.”
Hickox also admitted to breaking into DEA evidence bags, stealing thousands of dollars in cash, then resealing the bags or repacking the money in new heat-sealed bags with forged signatures. In another scheme, he and Earrey staged a fake traffic stop to seize what they believed was fentanyl arriving from another state.
His father, James Lee Hickox, blamed the high-stress environment of DEA work, arguing that officers need mental health counseling to prevent corruption.
“They have to live two lives,” he told WJXT. “You’re out slinging dope for the DEA and then you go home and be a family man.”
FBI Jacksonville Special Agent in Charge Kristin Rehler condemned Hickox’s actions.
“Law enforcement officers who operate as though they are above the law betray the badge and the citizens they swore to protect,” she said.
Hickox’s sentence is the harshest yet against more than 20 DEA agents and task force officers recently charged with crimes ranging from perjury to money laundering for drug cartels.
