Operation Ice Mama leads to 16 convictions in Sarasota County

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - Three years after a long-term undercover investigation from 2019, dubbed Operation Ice Mama, all 16 people have pleaded guilty, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said.

Those arrested amassed 156 prior felony charges with 49 convictions and 149 prior misdemeanor charges with 72 convictions. Significant prior charges from the individuals include murder, aggravated battery and burglary.

The investigation infiltrated a large drug trafficking ring responsible for distributing methamphetamine throughout Sarasota County.

The sheriff’s office launched an investigation with the Special Investigations Section in October 2018 after connecting 44-year-old Jennifer Lambert to the sale and distribution of methamphetamine in Nokomis.

Lambert is known within her network as “Mama Jen” and has drug arrests dating back to 2013 made her a person of interest related to drug trafficking for more than a decade.

Detectives connected Lambert to seven individual drug transactions and over the course of about eight months, the investigation led to identifying Lambert’s associates and others who were involved in her network.

With the court system shutting down due to COVID-19, the cases slowly progressed through the judicial system, culminating last week when the final defendant took a plea and was sentenced.

Each arrestee has been convicted and sentenced as follows:

• Jennifer Lambert – 10 years in prison and five years of probation
• Robbie Cain – 10 years in state prison and five years of probation
• Randy Greene – 10 years in state prison and five years of probation
• Erik Walker – seven years in state prison / and 18 months of probation
• Walter Lint – five years in state prison
• Scott Hill – three years in state prison
• Ronda Gibson – three years in state prison and two years of probation
• Bobby Jo Whiting – two years in state prison
• Heather Johnson – one year in county jail and two years of probation
• Drew Tilson – one year in county jail and 18 months of probation
• Jimalee Willis – four months in county jail and three years of probation
• Joseph Hochberg – six months in county Jail
• Robert McMullen – 90 days in county jail and one year of probation
• William Williams – five years of probation
• Casey Ross – five years of probation
• Patricia Greene – five years of probation

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