Two Florida Panhandle residents are facing the prospect of spending decades—and potentially the rest of their lives—behind bars after a federal grand jury handed down indictments involving major drug trafficking and weapons charges in Pensacola.
Andre Darrell Perry, 37, of Pensacola, and Loredano Alessandra Bassolino, 38, of Navarre, were both indicted on one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl. Perry faces additional heat from prosecutors, including two firearm counts: one for possessing a gun to push a drug trafficking crime, and another for being a convicted felon caught with a firearm.
John P. Heekin, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, officially announced the charges.
Both defendants have already made their initial court appearances at the federal courthouse in Pensacola to face the charges. Perry stood before U.S. Magistrate Judge Hope T. Cannon, while Bassolino appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Zachary C. Bolitho.
Their trial has been fast-tracked for this summer, officially scheduled to kick off on August 17, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. inside a Pensacola courtroom with District Court Judge T. Kent Wetherell, II presiding.
The legal penalties looming over both individuals are severe if the government secures a conviction. For the drug possession count alone, Perry looks at a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison.
On top of that, his firearm-in-furtherance charge carries a mandatory minimum of 5 years up to life, while the felon-in-possession charge adds up to another 15 years to his potential sentence. Bassolino faces a lighter but still substantial sentence, risking anywhere from 5 to 40 years in a federal penitentiary.
This case is the result of a coordinated investigation between the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the United States Marshals Service. Assistant United States Attorney Thomas S.P. Geeker has been tapped to handle the prosecution.
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