Marion County Woman Sentenced to More Than 16 Years in Prison for Drug Conspiracy and Firearm Possession
Ocala, FL – U.S. District Judge John Antoon II has sentenced Nishera Remon Johnson (42, Silver Springs Shores) to 16 years and 8 months years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute narcotics (including methamphetamine and cocaine) and possessing a firearm as an armed career criminal. Johnson had been indicted on September 2, 2020. She was previously found guilty by a federal jury on June 29, 2022.
According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, on November 26, 2019, pursuant to a search warrant, law enforcement officers searched a vehicle belonging to Johnson and found nearly two pounds of methamphetamine. During the execution of a search warrant of a co-conspirator’s cellphone, agents found evidence of a marijuana grow operation at Johnson’s residence. When that home was searched pursuant to a search warrant on December 16, 2019, agents located numerous firearms and ammunition and nearly half a kilogram of powder cocaine. Agents also located the marijuana grow operation in a shed behind the home. Johnson had been living at the home together with her co-conspirator and her minor child.
As a convicted felon, Johnson is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition under federal law. Furthermore, Johnson’s extensive criminal record—including multiple convictions for the sale and distribution of cocaine—qualified her for a sentencing enhancement as an Armed Career Criminal on the firearm offense.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Ocala Police Department, and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William S. Hamilton.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
