JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A former sergeant with the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office was sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison Monday morning after pleading guilty to federal drug charges.
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James Darrell Hickox, 39, was sentenced to 210 months (17.5 years) for charges including conspiring to distribute narcotics, conspiring to defraud the United States, and tax evasion.
Hickox was facing a maximum penalty of 50 years.
“When I consider everything, I want to get an idea of what causes someone to make bad choices. I don’t understand you. I recognize the cancer diagnosis and health issues, but I don’t see how that causes an individual to engage in what you did. I’m having a hard time with that. As a sworn law enforcement officer, you disgraced law enforcement and engaged in conduct that broke the public trust. Shamed your family and community and put them at risk,” U.S. Judge Wendy Berger said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office stated that Hickox and his co-conspirator, Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Joshua Earrey, engaged in corrupt activities from 2017 to 2023.
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Hickox’s actions included stealing money and illegal drugs taken as evidence during criminal investigations, providing illegal drugs like fentanyl and cocaine for distribution, and hiding over $420,000 from the IRS.
Hickox and Earrey reportedly stole more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana from evidence and provided it to others to sell, covering up the theft with falsified paperwork indicating the marijuana had been destroyed.
“I stand here today as a guilty man,” Hickox said during his sentencing Monday. “One of the many regrets and bad decisions that has led me here. I want to take the time to apologize to friends, family, the U.S. government, and coworkers.”
When asked by the judge why he did what he did, Hickox blamed his actions on the fear of dying and not being able to provide for his family after a cancer diagnosis.
The courtroom was packed with supporters of Hickox as the judge handed down the sentence, including his mom and dad who shared concerns about his mental health as a DEA agent.
“They have to live two lives. They’re out slinging dope for the DEA and then you go home as a family man,” James Lee Hickox said, his father. “I think because he was around it for 10 years… If he hadn’t had a badge, he was a drug dealer that was the job the DEA had him doing.”
Prosecutors called Hickox “a thief, a crooked cop, and a drug dealer with a badge.” They also argued that Hickox’s reasoning for committing the crimes did not make sense as they resulted in no gain to his family.
“There is tangible evidence that the safety of his family was second to his greed,” an attorney for the U.S. government said, detailing finding plastic bags of fentanyl three feet away from his children’s toys. “This is not someone who committed crimes because he was scared. He was greedy. He didn’t care who he hurt, his colleagues, family, those he was sworn to protect.”
The effects of Hickox’s actions were evident in November 2023 when charges were dropped against two individuals in a case where Hickox and Earrey would have been witnesses.
Diamonds Ford and her fiancé were arrested after a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office SWAT team member was injured by a bullet Ford fired through a window. The officer survived, but Ford and her fiancé were charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer.
News4JAX spoke with Ford after the charges were dropped. She described the ordeal as “hell.”
“It’s been very hard trying to keep everything afloat knowing that I couldn’t work as a pharmacy technician due to my charges,” said Ford. “I’ve experienced constantly looking for jobs and they constantly denied me because of my background because of these charges.”
The State Attorney’s Office, in its disposition dropping the charges, noted that Hickox used a confidential source to conduct undercover buys at a house on Rutledge Pearson Drive and set up a drug raid with JSO SWAT’s help.
The disposition stated, “Given the nature of the charges, Earrey and Hickox are no longer available as state witnesses. More importantly, the allegations against Earrey and Hickox raise significant questions about the events leading up to the execution of the search warrant that led to the shooting.”
As part of his sentencing, Hickox will also serve a 10-year term of supervised release. He was also prohibited from opening new lines of credit and making big purchases without a probation officer’s approval. He must also refrain from the use of illegal drugs, and will be subject to drug testing.
“I know my son. He don’t belong there. He just caught up in something he shouldn’t have done,” Eunice Hickox, his mother, said.
A restitution was not determined Monday and is expected to be decided in 90 days during a hearing.