JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A former 22-year veteran trooper with the Florida Highway Patrol was sentenced to nine years for drug-related charges.
Joshua Earrey pleaded guilty in April 2024 to possession of a firearm as an unlawful user of a controlled substance, conspiracy to defraud the U.S., and conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
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He faced up to 60 years in prison.
In March 2023, Earrey, who was also assigned to a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) task force, was arrested on charges of being an “unlawful user or addict of controlled substances in possession of a firearm.”
According to an arrest report, a cooperating defendant gave the Department of Homeland Security information about Earrey. The defendant said Earrey became addicted to oxycodone for back pain after he had back surgery in January 2023.
The person also told detectives that Earrey was buying Oxycodone for $30 a pill for at least a year, and he said that the pills came from an oxy source who had a prescription that allowed for 80 to 90 pills a month at 30 milligrams each, the report said.
The cooperating defendant was a middleman between the source and Earrey. At one point, Earrey was having trouble paying for the drugs and wanted to split payments.
The FBI also learned through an acquaintance of Earrey that he owned multiple firearms.
He will serve his sentence at a federal prison in Jesup, Georgia. He will also participate in a residential drug abuse program while in prison.
Once he is released, he will serve four years of probation and will have to participate in a substance abuse program.
Earrey also forfeits three firearms and assorted ammunition that were seized around the time of his arrest.
The FBI Jacksonville Acting Special Agent in Charge, Hubert Reynolds, issued a statement about the sentencing:
“Law enforcement officers who operate as though they are above the law betray the badge and the citizens they swore to protect. This case exemplified the FBI’s commitment to holding public servants accountable if they violate the very laws they promised to uphold,” Reynolds said.
