Source: Office of United States Attorneys
MOBILE, AL – A Pensacola, Florida man was sentenced to 44 years in prison for conspiring to possess and possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine and heroin, possessing an illegally modified machinegun and other firearms in furtherance of drug-trafficking crimes, and possessing firearms as a convicted felon.
According to court documents, Grayson Zachary Eagan, 30, led Baldwin County sheriff’s deputies on a 30-mile high-speed chase on March 8, 2021, after he refused to stop for a traffic violation in Elsanor. During the pursuit, Eagan reached speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour, frequently crossing into the wrong lane of traffic and blowing through several stop signs and lighted intersections. Near Lillian, deputies used a spike strip to deflate the front left tire of Eagan’s car, leaving only the rim of the wheel on the vehicle. Nevertheless, Eagan continued at speeds between 80 and 100 miles per hour, crossing into Florida.
Near the end of the chase, Eagan sped into a residential neighborhood in Pensacola, spinning out and losing control of his car in the front yard of a house. Dash-camera video showed Eagan’s codefendant, Lakin Amanda Wright, throwing a black bookbag from the backseat of the car into a driveway as Eagan sped away. The bookbag contained four handguns, more than a kilogram of 100% pure methamphetamine ice, 38 grams of heroin, drug paraphernalia, and more than $74,000 in banded-up cash. Forensic DNA analysts found Eagan’s DNA on items inside the bookbag.
Shortly after Wright discarded the bookbag, Eagan again lost control of his car and got stuck in a gravel driveway. Eagan and another codefendant, Dylan Michael Miller, attempted to flee on foot before deputies took them into custody. Lying next to Eagan on the ground, deputies found a loaded AR 15-style rifle equipped with an arm brace. Eagan had more than $3,000 in cash on his person. Inside Eagan’s car, deputies located six additional firearms, including a Glock pistol equipped with a machinegun-conversion device, commonly referred to as a “Glock switch,” which illegally converted the semiautomatic pistol into a fully automatic machinegun.
Deputies’ search of Eagan’s car also uncovered numerous rounds of ammunition and gun magazines, a tactical body-armor vest, small amounts of methamphetamine and marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and more than $1,000 in cash. At the time Eagan possessed the 11 guns that deputies seized from the car and the bookbag, he previously had been convicted of felony crimes in Florida. Those convictions rendered Eagan’s possession of firearms and ammunition illegal under federal law.
Agents also seized Eagan’s cell phones and obtained warrants to search them. The phones contained hundreds of Facebook and text messages that Eagan exchanged with Wright, Miller, and others regarding his drug-trafficking activities and illegal possession of firearms. The messages included Eagan discussing amounts and prices for heroin, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and other drugs. Eagan also discussed trading drugs for firearms. In one such message, Eagan offered to clear an individual’s drug debt in exchange for obtaining a machinegun-conversion device for him.
In addition to the 44-year prison sentence, Chief United States District Judge Jeffrey U. Beaverstock ordered Eagan to serve a five-year term of supervised release upon his release from prison, during which time he will undergo drug testing and treatment. The court did not impose a fine, but Chief Judge Beaverstock ordered Eagan to pay $600 in special assessments and forfeited Eagan’s firearms and ammunition to the United States.
Chief Judge Beaverstock previously sentenced Miller and Wright to serve 221 months and 186 months in prison, respectively. Miller and Wright each will serve five-year terms of supervised release upon their release from prison, during which they will receive drug testing and treatment.
U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. The Escambia County, Florida Sheriff’s Office and the Santa Rosa County, Florida Sheriff’s Office substantially assisted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Roller and Gaillard Ladd prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.