The I-10 Courier: A 28-Year Sentence for a Florida Man’s Valentine’s Day Haul

GULFPORT, Miss. – The long arm of the law on Interstate 10 reached out on a Valentine’s Day and closed, this week, with a grip that will last for decades. What began as a routine traffic stop for a broken taillight culminated in a 28-year prison sentence for Darmarte Carlos Epps, a 47-year-old Florida man, after he pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.

Epps, a habitual offender from Tampa with a criminal record described in a Harrison County courtroom as “voluminous,” will serve the entire sentence without the possibility of parole or early release, a stark conclusion to a drug run that was intercepted in its tracks.

According to officials from the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, the sequence of events began on the afternoon of February 14, 2023. A deputy patrolling the busy east-west artery of I-10 noted a rental vehicle committing several traffic infractions and initiated a stop near Gulfport.

What seemed standard, however, quickly shifted. The driver, later identified as Epps, exhibited “extreme nervousness” that went beyond the typical anxiety of a traffic stop, authorities reported. His answers were inconsistent, and his demeanor raised enough suspicion for the deputy to call for a narcotics K9 unit.

The trained dog, a key component in the county’s interdiction efforts, performed a free-air sniff around the vehicle and alerted to the presence of controlled substances. This provided the probable cause for deputies to conduct a full search of the SUV.

The find was significant. Tucked within the rear cargo area, concealed amongst luggage and other items, were several brick-like packages. In total, over two kilograms—roughly 4.4 pounds—of cocaine were seized, with an estimated street value in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Epps, who was driving the rental vehicle from Houston, Texas, back to his home in Tampa, Florida, was immediately taken into custody. The romantic notions of Valentine’s Day were replaced with the cold reality of a major drug charge.

But it was Epps’s past that ultimately sealed his future. During the investigation and subsequent court proceedings, prosecutors unveiled his extensive history of felony convictions, including prior offenses for cocaine trafficking in Florida. This allowed the district attorney’s office to prosecute him under Mississippi’s habitual offender statute, dramatically enhancing the potential sentence.

During a somber sentencing hearing, Judge Christopher Schmidt reviewed the defendant’s “voluminous” record, noting the recurring theme of narcotics violations. The 28-year sentence was handed down not just for the weight of the drugs in his trunk, but for the weight of his choices over a lifetime of crime.

Epps will now serve his sentence in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, a state far from home, his journey on I-10 ended for what is likely to be the rest of his natural life.