Gainesville men indicted on federal drug conspiracy charges
Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Cleveland Tyrone Ferguson II, 54, and Damien Charles Curtis, 46, have been indicted in federal court for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute over 500 grams of cocaine. Additionally, Ferguson has been separately indicted for possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, while Curtis has been separately charged with distribution of 500 grams or more of cocaine and possession with the intent to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine and crack cocaine. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the charges.
Ferguson and Curtis appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Midori A. Lowry for their initial appearance at the United States Courthouse in Gainesville. Trial is scheduled for July 22, 2026, at 8:30 a.m., in Gainesville before Chief District Court Judge Allen C. Winsor.
If convicted, Ferguson faces a sentence of at least 10 years’ imprisonment and the possibility of life imprisonment for each charge. Curtis faces between 5 and 40 years’ imprisonment for each charge.
Original arrest
Beginning in 2025, members of the Gainesville-Alachua County Drug Task Force had been investigating a group of people, including Curtis and Ferguson, who were believed to be distributing trafficking amounts of cocaine locally.
At about 5:20 p.m. on March 3, Task Force members were conducting surveillance in the area of 84 Lumber (5083 NW 13th Street), where Curtis worked, and they reported seeing a white Dodge Charger park near Curtis’s vehicle. Curtis reportedly entered his vehicle, emerged with a large brown package, and then handed the package to the driver of the Charger, who was later identified as Ferguson.
Officers followed the Charger and conducted a traffic stop at about 5:32 p.m. in the 5300 block of NE 15th Street for speeding, a suspected window tint violation, and tinted rear taillights. An Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy reportedly told Ferguson he would be writing a warning; while filling out the written warning, the officer asked whether there were any illegal narcotics in the vehicle, and Ferguson reportedly said he was on federal probation for narcotics-related offenses and there were no illegal narcotics in the vehicle. Ferguson denied consent to search the vehicle.
The deputy retrieved his K-9 partner, and the K-9 alerted to illegal narcotics in the Charger, establishing probable cause to search the vehicle.
The search reportedly produced a brown plastic shopping bag that contained a cloth “Louis Vuitton” bag containing two separate kilos of cocaine, wrapped in duct tape. One package reportedly weighed 1,088 grams, and the other weighed 1,097 grams; the substances in both packages tested positive for cocaine.
Any amount over 28 grams of cocaine is considered to be a trafficking offense.
A Gainesville Police Department officer reported that the “Louis Vuitton” bag looked “very similar if not identical” to the bag that Curtis gave Ferguson in the parking lot.
This case was investigated by the Gainesville-Alachua County Drug Task Force, the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam Hapner.
An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, 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.