Indian River County - Thursday, February 22, 2024: In Fort Pierce Federal Court Tuesday, 27-year-old Keyon Lewis admitted that he sold fentanyl to a Vero Beach which led to that man's death.
According to the plea agreement filed with the court, Lewis admitted that on November 5th, 2021, he sold fentanyl to the man in a parking lot in Vero Beach.
The next day, the man’s wife found him dead on the kitchen floor of their home. Indian River County Sheriff detectives retrieved the victim’s cellphone and ordered more fentanyl from Lewis. On November 7th Lewis was arrested when he came to the victim’s residence, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of Florida.
Lewis is scheduled to be sentenced on May 21 before U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon in Fort Pierce. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 20 years and a maximum penalty of up to life in prison.
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. For more information visit https://www.cdc.gov/opioids/basics/fentanyl.html#
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.
