Lehigh Acres Armed Drug Dealer Sentenced To 6 Years In Federal Prison

Fort Myers, Florida - U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Roberney Julien (26, Lehigh Acres) to six years in federal prison for possessing with intent to distribute cocaine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The court also ordered Julien to forfeit the firearm and ammunition he possessed during the offense. Julien entered a guilty plea on May 14, 2024.

According to court documents, on the morning of January 30, 2024, an officer from the Fort Myers Police Department conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle being driven by Julien along Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers. Before approaching the vehicle, the officer observed something being thrown out of the vehicle's window by one its occupants. The officer later identified the item tossed from the vehicle as a plastic baggie containing cocaine. The officer also found a loaded GSG handgun adjacent to the vehicle which had been discarded during the traffic stop as well. A subsequent investigation identified Julien as a local cocaine distributor who had unlawfully possessed the loaded firearm recovered from the scene.

This case was investigated by the Fort Myers Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Simon Eth.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.