A 31-year-old Pinellas County man has been sentenced for selling fentanyl linked to two fatal overdoses in Central Florida.
U.S. District Judge William F. Jung sentenced Corey Gaddy, of St. Petersburg, to 18 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances including fentanyl and two counts of distribution of fentanyl.
According to testimony, evidence presented at trial, and court records Gaddy was a supplier of opioids in Pinellas County since 2017. One of his dealers, Shawn Rodriguez, was at various times during the conspiracy a distributor of opioids in the Madeira Beach area. In February 2019, the Largo Police Department conducted a traffic stop of Gaddy and discovered heroin concealed in his pants.
While on bond for that offense, Gaddy distributed fentanyl to Rodriguez on November 6, 2019, who then supplied the same to K.E. In the early morning hours of the next day, K.E. died of fentanyl toxicity.
Gaddy learned that K.E. had died but continued distributing opioids. In April 2020, while still on bond for his pending state case, Gaddy again distributed opioids to J.P. and another person. Two days later, J.P. was found dead on a fishing boat.
This case was investigated by Drug Enforcement Administration, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, and the Largo Police Department, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Dan Baeza and Lauren Stoia.
Gaddy was found guilty following a trial on November 3, 2023. A co-conspirator in the case, Shawn Rodriguez, was sentenced on February 7, 2024, to 12 years and 7 months’ imprisonment.
