TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Johnny Curtis Bedgood, 46, of Madison, Florida, was arraigned today in federal court following his arrest on charges of drug trafficking and firearms offenses.
The three-count indictment filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges that on August 16, 2012, Bedgood possessed cocaine and more than 28 grams of crack cocaine with the intent to distribute. The indictment also charges that he possessed a .22 caliber revolver and a nine-millimeter pistol in furtherance of that offense. In addition, Bedgood is alleged to have possessed these firearms after conviction for a felony offense. The indictment was announced today by Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
Bedgood pled not guilty to the charges at his arraignment hearing before United States Magistrate Judge Charles A. Stampelos. Trial is scheduled for May 7, 2013, in U.S. District Court in Tallahassee.
If convicted, Bedgood faces a mandatory minimum term of ten years up to life in prison for the drug offense, a mandatory, consecutive term of five years in prison for possessing a firearm in furtherance of the drug offense, and a mandatory term of fifteen years in prison for possession of a firearm as a convicted felon.
U.S. Attorney Marsh credited the arrest to the joint efforts of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the United States Marshal’s Service, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael T. Simpson is prosecuting this case.
An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal 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.
