Wildlife officer convicted of drug smuggling regrets `stupid actions'

[Bud Man]

Wildlife officer convicted of drug smuggling regrets `stupid actions'
`I threw it all away,' a former wildlife officer said of his life and career before being sentenced to 90 months in federal prison for smuggling drugs.

A former state wildlife officer blames his own ``incredibly stupid actions'' for his seven-year prison sentence on drug-smuggling charges.

Jonathan S. Jacox, 33, of Big Pine Key was sentenced to 90 months in federal prison last week by a federal judge in Miami.

``I want everyone to know I am guilty of everything I am charged with and that I am ready to pay the price for my incredibly stupid actions,'' Jacox wrote in a court filing.

Jacox, who joined the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission as a law-enforcement officer, pleaded guilty June 5 to conspiracy involving the sale of ****** and cocaine, and possession of a firearm in commission of a felony.

A co-defendant in the case, former Monroe County sheriff's Deputy Shawn Hernandez, 33, changed his plea to guilty on Aug. 20.

Jacox had indicated he was prepared to testify against Hernandez, who reportedly recruited Jacox for the scheme to ferry cocaine and ****** from Florida City to Key West. Hernandez was a corrections deputy at the time, working in the county jail.

The trips to the mainland, on March 12 and April 11, were staged by undercover federal agents.

Hernandez is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 22.

In his presentencing statement, Jacox wrote that he overcame a turbulent childhood to join the U.S. Navy.

After his honorable discharge, he worked as a boat mate in the Lower Keys and applied to the fish and wildlife commission's academy. He graduated, and was assigned to Marathon in September 2006.

``I threw away a promising career and many years of my life for less than $5,000,'' Jacox said. ``I was trusted and respected by my community and I threw it all away.''

Jacox said the arrival of a baby daughter and an illness in his fiancée's family combined to put him in a financial hole. Things got worse when the souring economy eliminated off-duty jobs and overtime pay.

``I was desperate. The stress of my financial situation was getting to me,'' Jacox wrote. ``I started drinking too much. Everything I worked so hard for seemed to be unraveling.''

He continued: ``It was at this point in my life that I was approached by my best friend Shawn. He wanted me to keep an eye on him while he transported drugs from Miami to the Keys. At first I said no. Shawn kept asking and I finally agreed.

``I did it not once, but twice. It was the stupidest thing I have ever done in my life.''

His contrition apparently lightened his sentence. The prison term is half the 15-year minimum mandatory sentence he faced when he pleaded guilty.
The Miami Herald