Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Friday that his office has arrested a convicted drug trafficker whose federal prison sentence was commuted in the final days of former President Joe Biden’s administration and charged him under state law.

Uthmeier was joined by FBI Co-Deputy Director Andrew Bailey, Florida Department of Law Enforcement Assistant Commissioner John Vecchio and state prosecutors during a news conference in Hollywood announcing the arrest of James Howard Dobbs Jr., also known as “Red,” during a news conference in Hollywood.

Dobbs was the target of an FBI-led drug trafficking investigation in 2023 after authorities identified him as a distributor operating in Brevard County. During the investigation, officials said Dobbs sold trafficking-level quantities of MDMA and cocaine to a confidential source in multiple controlled purchases.

Dobbs was sentenced to seven years in federal prison but was released after his sentence was commuted during the Biden administration. Uthmeier criticized the use of the presidential autopen in those commutations and said Florida is reviewing similar cases involving offenders released before completing federal sentences.

Dobbs now faces 12 state charges, including trafficking in phenethylamines and cocaine, possession of cocaine and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Prosecutors said he faces up to 320 years in prison and a seven-year mandatory minimum sentence if convicted.

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