Gainesville man sentenced to 90 months in federal prison for drug and firearm offenses

Press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Isaih Malik Cox, a/k/a “Glizzy,” 27, of Gainesville, was sentenced to 90 months in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and carrying a firearm in relation to a drug-trafficking offense. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

For more details, click here to read Alachua Chronicle’s article about Cox’s July 2024 arrest.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said, “The defendant’s conviction and sentence is the result of excellent work by local and federal law enforcement and my office. In collaboration with our partners in and around the Northern District of Florida, we will continue to aggressively prosecute armed drug traffickers like the defendant who present a danger to the health and safety of our community until all drug trafficking organizations in our community are dismantled and eliminated.”

“We are committed to holding criminals accountable in close coordination with our federal partners. Our community will continue to stand strong against drug dealers who carry firearms and threaten the safety of our neighborhoods,” said Chief Nelson Moya, Gainesville Police Department.

According to court documents, while traveling in a vehicle in Gainesville, Florida, the defendant possessed a loaded pistol with an extended magazine and approximately 54 grams of a controlled substance commonly known as “molly,” which he intended to distribute. Prior to getting in the vehicle, the defendant was seen leaving an apartment where he had an AR-15 style pistol loaded with 32 rounds of ammunition.

The conviction and sentence were the result of a joint investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Gainesville Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam Hapner.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline), a nationwide initiative that 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. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).