PANAMA CITY MAN ARRESTED FOR METH IN WALTON COUNTY SENTENCED TO 12 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON

For Immediate Release

November 9, 2017

DEFUNIAK SPRINGS, Fla— A traffic stop on Highway 20 in May of this year led to the discovery of more than 25 grams of methamphetamine. Now, the person responsible for trafficking it into Walton County will spend 12 years in prison.

On May 2, 2017, a confidential source relayed information to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) indicating Joshua Ray Fountain, 40, of Panama City was traveling towards Okaloosa County to pick up methamphetamine and would be returning to Panama City. Fountain was already serving a five-year term of federal supervised release following a 12 year stint in federal prison on methamphetamine charges.

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That afternoon, DEA agents notified Walton County Sheriff’s Office they were following Fountain towards Freeport on Highway 20 on his way back to Bay County. Deputies pulled over the vehicle and a K9 was deployed and alerted to the driver’s side door. More than 25 grams of methamphetamine were found inside the car along with a digital scale.

Fountain was sentenced Tuesday November 7th to serve a total term of 144 months in prison after pleading guilty to possessing with intent to distribute more than five grams of methamphetamine, and admitting to violating the terms of his federal supervised release by possessing the methamphetamine while on federal supervision.

The sentence was announced Thursday by Christopher P. Canova, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.