A mother and her son both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. This ends a multi-year probe that found a large drug trafficking network in Arizona and North Florida.
The US Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, John P. Heekin, said that Kanethia Tremeka Steele, 51, of Tampa, Florida, and her son, Kenneth Steele, 30, of Phoenix, Arizona, both admitted to their parts in the illegal business.
On May 7, 2025, Kenneth Steele pleaded guilty. On Friday, May 8, 2025, his mother, Kanethia Steele, also pleaded guilty.
Both are now in the United States Courthouse in Gainesville, Florida, waiting to be sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Alan C. Winsor. Kenneth Steele will be sentenced on July 22, 2025, and Kanethia Steele will be sentenced on September 30, 2025.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said, “The importation and distribution of dangerous and addicting drugs like methamphetamine is a plague on both large and small communities throughout North Florida.” “My office is determined to keep the promise made by President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to “Take Back America” by finding drug traffickers like this mother and son who want to make money by poisoning our people and bringing them to justice. Because of the hard work of our law enforcement partners, this drug dealing business has been shut down.
Court papers say that Kanethia Steele was a key member of the plot for more than three years. She supposedly got kilogram amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine from drug dealers in Arizona. These drugs were then sent to drug dealers in North Florida’s Alachua, Dixie, Gilchrist, and Levy counties.
Additional information shows that Kanethia Steele not only packed the methamphetamine, but she also asked her son Kenneth to carry large packages. Kenneth Steele smuggled many kilograms of methamphetamine from Phoenix, Arizona, to Orlando, Florida, by hiding the drugs in luggage on commercial planes.
Kenneth Steele took three of these trips at his mother’s request. He ended up carrying over 40 pounds of methamphetamine, which was then spread all over North Florida.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office worked together on the case that led to the convictions.
