Indian River County - Friday July 12, 2024: Confessed Indian River County drug dealer 27-year-old Keyon Lewis has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, followed by 4 years of supervised release, for distributing fentanyl that resulted in death.
U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon handed down the sentenced Thursday, July 11, in Fort Pierce Federal Court. Lewis entered his guilty plea in that court back on February 20th of this year. He entered a plea of guilty, admitting that he sold some fentanyl to a Vero Beach man that led to that man's death.
According to the court record, on November 5th, 2021, Lewis sold fentanyl to a man in the parking lot of a restaurant in Vero Beach. The next day, the man’s wife found him dead on the kitchen floor of their residence.
After law enforcement discovered the victim’s body, they used the victim’s cellphone to order more fentanyl from Lewis. Lewis took the call and didn't know he was talking to law enforcement posing as the victim.
On November 7th, 2021, Lewis showed up at the victim’s residence with more fentanyl. Indian River County Sheriff Deputies were waiting and arrested him.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Porter. U.S. in Fort Pierce, Fla.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division, and IRCSO Sheriff Eric Flowers made the announcement after sentencing by
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. Just one fentanyl pill can kill, as noted in DEA’s One Pill Can Kill campaign.
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.