‘Heroin kingpin’ sentenced despite ‘witchery’

A Pensacola man investigators called the area’s primary heroin distributor was sentenced to 25 years in state prison Friday, despite claims his conviction was a result of a conspiracy and “dark magic witchery.”

In September, an Escambia County jury found 51-year-old James Jonathan Mitchell guilty of trafficking in heroin, conspiracy to possess heroin and resisting an officer with violence. Mitchell also has a pending murder case stemming from allegations that a man named Donald Davis overdosed on heroin he bought from Mitchell.

But in his sentencing for the drug charges Friday, Mitchell insisted he was not Mitchell but “the Prophet Elias.” He claimed the charges against him were “a conspiracy to kill me because I know too much.”

The initial minutes of the sentencing hearing took on the air of a sideshow as the “prophet” refused to respond to questions from Judge Edward P. Nickinson, randomly blurted out incoherent phrases and stared off into space.

“I suspect he’s doing his best to convince me he is not competent to proceed,” Nickinson said to the court.

Despite his skepticism. the judge briefly considered delaying the sentencing so doctors could evaluate Mitchell’s mental fitness. However in a TV drama-worthy twist, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and the State Attorney’s office produced last-minute evidence of Mitchell’s competency: Footage of Mitchell talking to acquaintances during a jail video visitation call Wednesday.

Mitchell’s counsel offered a few objections to the relevancy of the video, but the judge ultimately agreed to review it.

“My view is most likely what I’m seeing from Mr. Mitchell is an act,” Nickinson said. “He’s written me a motion about angels and demons and anointed himself as a prophet. If the day before yesterday he was having a visitation where he was lucid ... it’s not something where we need to interrupt these proceedings for a psychiatric evaluation.”

The video showed a chatty and coherent Mitchell making small talk with a pair of female visitors. He was shown complimenting one of the women on her new haircut, discussing furniture and asking about the progress of a retail store’s remodeling before the judge announced he had seen enough to proceed with the sentencing.

The state asked that Mitchell receive 30 years, five more years than the legally required sentence. Sheriff’s Investigator Amber Bernard testified that 96 grams of black-tar heroin was seized from Mitchell’s home, enough to supply nearly 1,000 people. Assistant State Attorney Thomas Williams argued that if released, Mitchell would be a danger to the community.

“Consider the effect 960 individual sales or uses of heroin in our community,” Williams said. “Heroin is a poison to individuals, families and communities.”

The judge was not swayed, sticking to the mandatory minimum of a quarter century. Still, Mitchell will be around 75 if he’s released from prison, and that’s not withstanding the pending murder trial.

If convicted there, he faces 30 years to life.