Charlie N. Steans, 58, of Pensacola, Florida and Texas City, Texas, has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute significant amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine between Texas and Escambia County, Florida. The sentencing was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
U.S. Attorney Heekin stated: “I applaud the excellent collaborative work of our state and federal law enforcement partners to stop this individual from continuing to flood our streets with deadly drugs. My office will continue to deliver successful prosecutions and substantial prison sentences for drug traffickers, like this defendant, as part of the Homeland Security Task Force’s whole-of-government approach to eliminating and eradicating organized criminal enterprises that threaten the safety of our communities.”
According to court documents, Steans was apprehended at a Greyhound Bus Station in Houston, Texas in early 2023 with approximately 10 kilograms of methamphetamine and one kilogram of cocaine concealed in his luggage. After posting bond from a Texas jail following that arrest, he was arrested again in late 2024 on another Greyhound bus in Mississippi while heading toward Pensacola with nearly four kilograms of cocaine in his possession. Law enforcement agencies then identified Steans as an interstate transporter moving large quantities of drugs between Texas and Florida destined for Pensacola. Following this second arrest, he was taken into federal custody based on charges from the Northern District of Florida.
DEA Miami Field Division Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter said: “Our agents and law enforcement partners will continue to fight those trafficking poisons into our Florida communities. Whether by bus, tractor trailer, plane, or boat, we will find you and bring you to justice.”
The investigation involved cooperation among several agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Pensacola Police Department; Escambia County Sheriff’s Office; Florida Department of Law Enforcement; and Florida Highway Patrol. Assistant United States Attorneys David L. Goldberg and Jessica S. Etherton prosecuted the case.
This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative created by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF brings together multiple agencies to target criminal cartels and organizations operating within the United States as well as abroad.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one among 94 such offices nationwide serving under direction from the Attorney General. Additional information about public court records can be found at U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website or at http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
