Lehigh Acres man gets prison for gun, drug crimes

FORT MYERS, Fla. A 33-year-old Lehigh Acres man was sentenced to more than a dozen years in federal prison as part of a plea agreement on drug and weapons charges.

District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell gave James Thomas Bissell 12 years and seven months, according to a Justice Department press release.

He was indicted Feb. 3 on charges of possession with the intent to distribute and distribution of cocaine and heroin, possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, hydrocodone, marijuana, alprazolam, and morphine, as well as possession of firearms as a convicted felon.

Bissell sold cocaine and heroin in October 2015 to an undercover detective from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office from his home in Lehigh Acres, according to the plea agreement.

The sheriff’s office found six types of controlled substances that Bissell was holding for distribution, along with 28 firearms and cash.

As a convicted felon, Bissell was prohibited from possessing firearms, two of which had been previously reported stolen.