You gotta respect the hustle.Cave ManA former Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) officer is going away for a long time after admitting to swapping bricks of seized cocaine with 3D-printed decoys.As theAssociated Press reports, former Jacksonville-area sheriff's sergeant and ex-DEA agent James Hickox has been sentenced to at least 17 years in prison after pleading guilty to not only stealing drugs and cash seized during the course of his duties, but also replacing them with fake versions he made with a 3D printer.The 38-year-old Florida man admitted as part of his plea deal that he'd bagged more than $420,000 yes, that is the figure that the AP used for cannabis, cocaine, and other drugs he stole from his employers. After snagging the contraband, Hickox would often claim that the narcotics had been destroyed during normal police procedure, though he eventually changed that tune and started making 3D-printed decoy drugs.When searching the man's house following the corrupt cop's 2023 arrest alongside a state trooper and more than 20 others involved in the scheme, authorities found a bunch of narcotics and guns he'd stolen from work. Over the door to his converted garage, a sign reading "Gator Man's Cave" signaled visitors that they'd arrived at the DEA agent's drug den, the AP explained.Stranger Than FictionIt's unclear whether or not the 3D-printed coke brick was made in said "cave," but Hickox did admit that he sprinkled some real blow on top of it to make it look real. Reporting on the case also didn't reveal how federal authorities got wise to the scheme, though with the number of people involved and the amount of drugs they seem to have pilfered, it was probably bound to happen.AsNews4Jax reports, the onetime Nassau County Sheriff's Office sergeant claimed in court that just like Walter White in "Breaking Bad," he chose to start stealing drugs from work and selling them because he'd been diagnosed with cancer and wanted to be able to provide for his family after he was gone.Wendy Berger, the US district court judge who presided over the case and who shares both her first name and her hair color with a bit "Breaking Bad" character wasn't buying that sob story."I recognize the cancer diagnosis and health issues, but I dont see how that causes an individual to engage in what you did," the federal judge said. "Im having a hard time with that."Along with the charges related to stealing drugs and "defrauding the United States," part of Hickox's sentence relates to tax evasion because, as the Internal Revenue Service noted, he didn't report the money he stole.Share This Article