An Ocala man will spend the next 11 years and 8 months in federal prison following a botched methamphetamine deal with an undercover officer, federal officials announced.
U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber handed down the sentence to 29-year-old Tyrone Pierson for possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Pierson had previously entered a guilty plea on January 2, 2026.
The investigation also swept up a co-defendant, Reshawn Graham, who pleaded guilty on April 2, 2026. Graham is slated to face his own sentencing hearing on June 25, 2026. The final outcomes of the case were announced by U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe.
Court records detail a two-day sting operation that began on October 7, 2025, when an undercover law enforcement officer arranged to buy a pound of methamphetamine from Graham. Later that same day, Pierson met up with the undercover officer to explain that the drug supply was running behind schedule.
The transaction picked back up the following day when Graham contacted the undercover officer to confirm that Pierson had the narcotics in hand. Law enforcement moved in and arrested both Graham and Pierson at their agreed-upon meeting spot. At the time of the arrest, Pierson was wearing a bag that held roughly 438 grams of methamphetamine.
The Drug Enforcement Administration worked alongside the Marion County Unified Drug Enforcement Strike Team to investigate the case, which was later prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.
The prosecution falls under the umbrella of Operation Take Back America. According to the Department of Justice, the nationwide initiative “marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.”
READ: Guatemala Native Pleads Guilty In Online Sting After Trying To Meet Fake 13-Year-Old In Florida
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