Local ‘heroin kingpin’ convicted on drug charges

A local “heroin kingpin” who is already facing a murder charge has been convicted of a pair of drug offenses, according to a news release from the State Attorney’s Office.

An Escambia County jury this week found 51-year-old James Jonathan Mitchell guilty of trafficking in heroin, conspiracy to possess heroin and resisting an officer with violence.

Mitchell was also charged in July with first-degree murder for the death of Donald Davis, who on Jan. 30, 2014, was found unconscious in his home by Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies. An autopsy later revealed he died of acute heroin intoxication.

Narcotics investigators found evidence that Mitchell had supplied Davis with the heroin that killed him, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. Under Florida law, a person who provides another with a controlled substance that causes their death is guilty of first-degree murder.

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County, state and federal agencies began investigating Mitchell, who has been called the heroin kingpin of the South, in 2011, and through surveillance and phone-tapping found evidence he was transporting black-tar heroin from Texas. During a 2013 traffic stop stop in Kaufman County, Texas, local authorities found heroin and over $42,000 in Mitchell’s vehicle.

After being charged with possession of a controlled substance and money laundering, Mitchell was released on bond, according to court records.

On May 20, 2014, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrested Mitchell again after searching his Pensacola home, where they seized about 80 grams of black-tar heroin valued at $45,000, an assault rifle and a fully automatic machine gun and $10,000 in cash. At the time, Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan called it the largest heroin bust the county has seen in the past 10 years.

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Mitchell was released on bond again but after missing a court appearance, he was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshal’s Task Force at a fast-food drive through in West Pensacola.

Circuit Judge Edward P. Nickinson III scheduled Mitchell to be sentenced Oct. 16. The trafficking charge carries a minimum mandatory of 25 years in prison and a $500,000 fine, the State Attorney’s Office said.

Mitchell is also due for an October court appearance on the murder charge.

The investigation and arrest were conducted by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant State Attorney Thomas Williams prosecuted the case.