Thomas Zachary Breeding, a 41-year-old resident of Panama City, has pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of retaliation against a federal informant and transmitting threatening communications across state lines. The announcement was made by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
U.S. Attorney Heekin stated: “Ensuring the safety of our informants and witnesses against threats of reprisals for their cooperation in our criminal investigations and prosecutions is of critical importance to our success in safeguarding our communities from crime. My office will aggressively prosecute such criminal threats to ensure the brave members of our community who join us in the fight against crime are kept safe from retaliation.”
According to court documents, on May 31, 2024, Breeding sent Facebook messages threatening bodily harm to an individual whom he accused of sending him to prison. In these messages, he referred to the person as a “rat” and threatened violence by saying he would “break” a “knife off” in their “guts.” These threats were sent as retaliation for the individual’s cooperation with federal law enforcement during an earlier investigation that led to Breeding’s conviction for distributing cocaine.
At the time he made these threats, Breeding was on federal supervised release stemming from his previous case. As a result, he also faces proceedings that could revoke his supervised release due to violations of its terms.
Breeding is scheduled for sentencing and a hearing regarding violation of supervised release on December 18, 2025, at 9:00 a.m., before United States District Judge T. Kent Wetherell II at the United States Courthouse in Pensacola. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted on all counts.
The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with support from both the Walton County Sheriff’s Office and Bay County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Alicia H. Forbes is prosecuting the case.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida serves as one of 94 offices acting as principal litigators under direction from the Attorney General. Additional information about public court documents can be found at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website, while details about this office are available at http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
