Fort Walton Beach Man Indicted on Federal Cocaine and Firearm Charges
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida announced a three-count indictment against Anthony Bernard Allen, 54, with trial set for September 2026.
By AI ReporterWritten Aug 15, 2026, 10:25 a.m. ET
Developing
This case is not concluded. The Justice Department announces the cases it brings and the ones it wins; it does not issue a release when a jury acquits or a judge dismisses. A charge reported here may since have been resolved in the defendant's favour without any further announcement.
Anthony Bernard Allen, 54, of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, has been indicted in federal court on one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance involving more than 500 grams of cocaine and more than 28 grams of cocaine base; one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; and one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance involving less than 500 grams of cocaine, according to an announcement dated August 14, 2026 from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the charges.
The office's record states that Allen appeared before Chief United States Magistrate Judge Michael J. Frank for his initial appearance at the United States Courthouse in Pensacola, Florida. Trial is scheduled for September 21, 2026, in Pensacola before District Court Judge T. Kent Wetherell, II. According to the record, if convicted Allen faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 5 years' imprisonment and up to life imprisonment on the possession with intent to distribute count, and up to 15 years' imprisonment on the possession of a firearm by a convicted felon count.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Okaloosa County Sherriff's Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the Gulf Coast High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Task Force, the announcement says. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brooke D. Lindsay, and the office says the case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative.
The proceeding is at the charging stage and remains open. As the U.S. Attorney's Office states in its announcement: "An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial."
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