JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Nathaniel Hatcher III, a 30-year-old Jacksonville resident, was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison for leading a drug trafficking organization and orchestrating a daytime drive-by shooting on I-95 in 2023.
According to a release by the DOJ, Hatcher was also ordered to forfeit $2.2 million in proceeds derived from an eight-year marijuana distribution conspiracy.
Hatcher pleaded guilty in September 2025 to charges including conspiracy to distribute marijuana, money laundering and committing a drive-by shooting in furtherance of a drug offense.
The sentencing follows an investigation into an October 2023 attack where Hatcher and his associates fired dozens of rounds at a vehicle on the highway after a failed drug deal.
Hatcher led the Jacksonville-based drug organization for eight years, trafficking bulk quantities of marijuana from Northern California.
The organization smuggled the drugs using commercial airlines, the U.S. mail system and vehicles. Once in Jacksonville, Hatcher and other members moved the marijuana to various short-term rental homes used for storage, packaging and sales.
Hatcher used former corrections officer Desmond Maxwell to illegally purchase firearms for the group to protect their drug proceeds.
The organization also engaged in extensive money laundering. Hatcher worked with Yaquasia Delcarmen to collect drug proceeds and launder more than $2 million into bank accounts controlled by Hatcher. They used sham business accounts to hide the illicit funds and used the money to purchase lavish items.
Ron Loecker, special agent in charge for the IRS Criminal Investigation Florida Field Office, noted that the financial penalty reflected the severity of the crimes. “The judge delivered a punishment that matches the danger this defendant posed to communities,” Loecker said. “The message is simple: profit from poison and you pay for it.”
The investigation into the 2023 shooting revealed it was an act of retaliation following a failed drug transaction on September 18, 2023. During that incident, subjects stole approximately $45,000 in cash from Hatcher and associate James Toney at a gas station on Old St. Augustine Road.
To find the people who took the money, Hatcher contacted a former police officer who illegally accessed law enforcement databases to provide names and home addresses. For nearly a month, Hatcher and his crew tracked and cyber-stalked the subjects and their families.
On October 15, 2023, Briyhon Johnson and Toney stole two cars from a rental lot at Jacksonville International Airport to use in the retaliatory strike. Two days later, Hatcher and his members surveilled the man and a female companion as they left the Duval County Courthouse in a Mercedes sedan.
During the pursuit on I-95 South, a Dodge Charger driven by Johnson and an Audi SUV driven by Tavarius boxed the Mercedes into the left lane. Hatcher, traveling in the Audi and Toney, traveling in the Dodge, fired dozens of rounds at the vehicle.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche highlighted the recklessness of the attack. “Hatcher and his drug crew planned and executed a brazen drive-by shooting in broad daylight on I-95, putting dozens of law-abiding Americans in danger of losing their lives,” Blanche said.
The driver of the Mercedes survived a gunshot wound after being airlifted to a trauma unit. The female passenger was treated at a hospital for injuries caused by broken glass. Investigators recovered 25 shell casings from the scene.
Following Hatcher’s arrest in February 2024, he directed Delcarmen to continue drug operations and instructed co-conspirators to destroy evidence or lie to law enforcement.
Today, the DOJ made the announcement of the 35-year sentence and credited the collaborative effort of multiple agencies. “The tenacious work by our federal, state and local law enforcement partners in this case ensured that the members of this drug trafficking organization were brought to justice,” U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe said.
The investigation involved the FBI, ATF, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Fla. Highway Patrol and sheriff’s offices in St. Johns, Jacksonville and Clay counties.
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