Jacksonville Man Pleads Guilty For Role In Drive By Shooting On I 95 In St. Johns County

Jacksonville, Florida - United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that James Toney (19, Jacksonville) has pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, committing a drive-by shooting in furtherance of a major drug offense, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Toney faces a minimum sentence of 15 years, up to life, in federal prison. Toney has also agreed to forfeit $1,000, which represents illicit proceeds derived from drug trafficking.

According to court documents, between October 2022 and July 2024, Toney served as an armed distributor for a Jacksonville-based drug trafficking organization (DTO) operated and led by Toney's brother, Nathaniel Hatcher, III. The DTO trafficked bulk marijuana from Northern California to Jacksonville by smuggling marijuana on commercial airlines, shipping marijuana through the U.S. mail system, and transporting marijuana by vehicle across state lines. Once the marijuana arrived in Jacksonville, Toney and other DTO members transported the marijuana to various short-term rental homes throughout Jacksonville. Members of the DTO rented these homes to store, package, and distribute the marijuana. Toney and other members of the DTO routinely carried and possessed firearms at these residences to protect themselves, their drugs, and their drug proceeds during drug sales. Federal agents determined that Toney was responsible for trafficking between 100 and 400 kilograms of marijuana during the conspiracy. In addition to trafficking, transporting, smuggling, and selling marijuana, Toney was also responsible for carrying out violence on behalf of the DTO.

On September 18, 2023, Toney and other DTO members arranged a drug transaction with subjects they had met that evening in Jacksonville. The drug transaction, which occurred at a gas station along Old St. Augustine Road, failed. The other subjects never provided the promised marijuana, and instead, stole approximately $45,000 in cash from Hatcher and Toney. After the failed drug transaction, Hatcher contacted a former police officer who illegally accessed law enforcement databases to provide Hatcher with the names and home addresses of the subjects who had stolen the money. In the following days, Toney and other DTO members tracked, surveilled, and cyberstalked the other subjects and their family members. In text messages, Toney and others discussed and plotted retaliation for the robbery, including committing acts of violence.

On October 17, 2023, Toney traveled to the Duval County courthouse for a scheduled court date in an unrelated pending criminal matter. Toney and other DTO members were aware that one of the subjects from the September 18 drug transaction also had a court hearing that day for a separate criminal matter. After court concluded, Hatcher, Toney, and other DTO members surveilled this subject as he exited the Duval County courthouse, accompanied by a female, and enter his white sedan. Hatcher, Toney, and other DTO members, operating multiple vehicles, including a red sedan and a gray SUV, followed the white sedan from downtown Jacksonville to I-95, traveling southbound toward St. Johns County. Toney was traveling in the red vehicle and Hatcher was traveling in the gray SUV. At approximately 11:20 a.m., during the pursuit along I-95 South, the red and gray vehicles boxed the white sedan into the left lane of traffic. Then, individuals from the red and gray vehicles discharged dozens of rounds of 7.62 caliber ammunition at the white sedan. Following the shooting, the red and gray vehicles fled the scene.

Deputies with the St. Johns County Sheriffs' Office and emergency medical personnel arrived on scene and secured the area. The driver of the white sedan, who was the male subject from the courthouse, sustained one gunshot wound but survived and was airlifted to a trauma unit. The front passenger of the white sedan, the female subject from the courthouse, suffered injuries from broken glass. Emergency personnel also transported her to a nearby hospital. The white sedan sustained gunshots to the passenger side, the rear, the front and hood, the front windshield, the interior, and the engine block. On scene, deputies recovered approximately 25 spent 7.62 caliber shell casings. According to ballistics analyses, two different firearms were used during the shooting.

On June 28, 2024, federal agents secured a criminal complaint for Toney based on his alleged role in the drug conspiracy. On July 3, 2024, federal agents and detectives with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office attempted to arrest Toney on the federal warrant, but Toney and an associate fled, and a high-speed chase ensued through populated areas of Jacksonville. Toney ultimately escaped and fled to Gainesville. On July 8, 2024, agents located Toney in Jacksonville and arrested him. In Toney's possession was his cellphone and $1,000 in cash.

Toney's co-defendant, Al'Donta Easterling, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He faces a minimum of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison.

Hatcher's case is pending, and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, the Clay County Sheriff's Office, and the Florida Highway Patrol. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Aakash Singh and Kirwinn Mike.

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.