ORLANDO – The Clay County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the investigation of a Crescent City man already convicted of murder for distributing methamphetamine.

U.S. District Judge Wendy Berger today sentenced Francisco Javier Arroyo, 31, to five years and 10 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. Arroyo pleaded guilty on Sept. 25, 2024.  

According to the plea agreement and other court documents, from February through July 2021, Arroyo distributed methamphetamine and cocaine along with several conspirators, including Alejandro Alvarado, 30, Miguel Jose Martinez, 43, Crescent City, Jonathan Arroyo Ontiveros 25, and Noel Bueno Jr., 27, all from Crescent City, and Angel Perez, 29, Deland, and others. Miguel Angel Ortiz, 29, Crescent City, also served as a courier to deliver multi-kilogram shipments of methamphetamine from Texas, North Carolina and Georgia to the Crescent City neighborhood in which Arroyo and others operated.

Arroyo delivered ounces of methamphetamine and cocaine primarily to Robert Wayne Watson, 59, Seville, who operated out of his home in Seville. Watson then redistributed ounces of methamphetamine to mid-level dealers located throughout Central Florida, including George Edward Sykes, 46, Bunnell), Danny Wayne Holmes, 61, Kathleen, Dina Dynnette Kempher, 38, Satsuma and David John Doerr, 56, Astor.

On July 16, 2021, the FBI arrested multiple individuals in Crescent City and Seville as part of the drug conspiracy. Around the same time, Arroyo was arrested in Missouri in connection with a triple homicide on July 13, 2021, in Crescent City. Arroyo was later convicted of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder for the surviving victims. He was sentenced to 22 years in Florida state prison. After his murder conviction in April 2024, Arroyo was transported to federal court to face charges for drug distribution occurring in 2021. Upon completing his state sentence, he will serve another 5 years and 10 months in federal prison. To date, 12 individuals have pleaded guilty and were sentenced to federal prison terms concerning this conspiracy.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Clay, Putnam and Volusia County sheriff’s offices. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dana E. Hill is prosecuting it.   

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven and multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF program can be found at justice.gov/OCDETF.