Jacksonville Man Sentenced To More Than 15 Years In Federal Prison For Fentanyl And Methamphetamine Trafficking Conspiracy

Jacksonville, Florida – Senior U.S. District Judge Harvey E. Schlesinger today sentenced Trenton Knight (49, Jacksonville) to 15 years and 8 months in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances. The court also ordered Knight to forfeit a revolver, assorted ammunition, and $25,000. Knight entered a guilty plea on August 29, 2023.

According to court documents, Knight was a supplier of fentanyl and methamphetamine for Geoffrey Carter, a drug dealer and Knight’s co-defendant in the case. Over approximately six months in 2022, Knight supplied Carter with more than 2 kilograms of fentanyl and 20 kilograms of methamphetamine. During that period, a confidential source, acting at the direction of law enforcement, purchased controlled substances from Carter four times at Carter’s home in Jacksonville.  During these transactions, Carter sold the confidential source approximately 645 grams of methamphetamine, 3 grams of fentanyl, and a revolver.

On November 2, 2022, law enforcement agents and officers executed a federal search warrant at Carter’s home and located seven loaded handguns, two body armor vests, ammunition, a scale, baggies containing methamphetamine and marijuana, a Nazi flag, and a vest with markings associated with the “Unforgiven,” a white-supremacist prison gang. That same day, agents and officers arrested Knight at his home in Jacksonville. They located in his bedroom a loaded revolver and baggies containing methamphetamine and fentanyl. Knight had $7,240 in cash in his pocket.

Carter previously pleaded guilty. He was sentenced in January 2024 to 15 years in federal prison for the same drug conspiracy and possession of a firearm as a convicted felon. 

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, the St. Augustine Beach Police Department, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Coolican.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.