Fort Pierce Drug Dealer Sentenced to Eight Years in Federal Prison
MIAMI – A Fort Pierce man has been sentenced to 96 months in federal prison for drug trafficking. U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon imposed the sentence on Derron Nathaniel Johnson, 28, following his guilty plea to distribution of fentanyl and cocaine.
According to the facts admitted at the change of plea hearing, Johnson conducted two separate drug sales in Fort Pierce: on July 6, 2022, he sold 13.92 grams of fentanyl; and on August 19, 2022, he sold 84.1 grams of cocaine.
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division, and Sheriff Richard Del Toro Jr. of the Saint Lucie County Sheriff’s Office (SLCSO) made the announcement.
DEA Miami Field Division and SLCSO investigated the case. Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office provided invaluable assistance. It was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida.
According to the DEA’s National Drug Threat Assessment, synthetic drugs, such as fentanyl, are poisoning our nation. Fentanyl has proven to be a deadly poison that does not discriminate. Its victims include every gender, race, age, and economic background, and its debilitating effects are the same across all demographics. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Even in small doses, fentanyl can be deadly. As little as two milligrams, about the size of 5 grains of salt, can be fatal. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are the most common drugs involved in overdose deaths. Over 150 people die every day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl. The State of Florida has also seen an exponential increase in overdoses associated with fentanyl. In 2022, more than 5,622 people died from overdoses involving fentanyl and fentanyl analogs in Florida.