Fentanyl Trafficker Found Guilty

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Juan Carlos Garcia (39, Apopka) guilty of conspiracy and possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute it. Garcia faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 6, 2023. Garcia had been indicted on February 16, 2022.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Garcia conspired with a co-defendant to drive to a gas station in Apopka and sell more than a kilogram of fentanyl for $33,000. Garcia drove the vehicle and brought a loaded handgun with him, while his co-defendant brought the drugs and set up the deal. In coordination with DEA, the Apopka Police Department conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle. During a search of the vehicle, the loaded handgun was recovered from the center console and the package of drugs was found in the backseat. Both defendants were arrested without incident. The drugs were tested by the DEA laboratory and determined to be p-Fluorofentanyl, which is an analogue of fentanyl and is on Schedule I of the Drug Enforcement Administrations’ schedules of controlled substances.

Garcia will also have to forfeit the handgun and ammunition which facilitated the drug trafficking offense.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Apopka Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys John M. Gardella and Courtney Richardson-Jones.