Fentanyl Dealer Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Overdose Death

Miami, Florida – A South Florida fentanyl dealer whose product killed a man was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison today.  

On May 19, 2021, 21-year-old Peterson Nozinord drove another man, age 27, to a motel in Lantana, Florida.  Nozinord checked the man into a room by using Nozinord’s identification.  Once inside, Nozinord provided the man with four fentanyl capsules.  After a short time, Nozinord left the motel.

The next day, at approximately 7:30 a.m., the Lantana Police Department responded to the motel on a request for a welfare check on the victim.  Upon entering the room, the responding officer discovered the man’s lifeless body slumped on the floor with a needle in his hand.  The officer also observed on the dresser seven pills, four drug capsules, and a small white plastic baggie.  The capsules were later examined by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and DEA Forensic Science Labs and were identified as a mixture of fentanyl, tramadol, xylazine, and cocaine.  A review of motel security cameras showed that the victim was dropped off at the motel and checked in by an individual operating a black Honda.

After conducting his initial investigation at the scene, a Lantana police sergeant departed the area of the motel to head back to police headquarters.  Shortly after leaving the parking lot of the motel, the sergeant observed the same vehicle that Nozinord used to transport the victim to the motel the previous evening.  The sergeant observed the vehicle run through a stop sign almost causing an accident with another vehicle.  The sergeant then conducted a motor vehicle stop on the black Honda.

During the stop, the sergeant observed that the Black Honda contained two occupants.  Nozinord was riding as the front seat passenger.  After the driver gave the police consent to search the vehicle, the sergeant located a backpack in the glove compartment that contained an assortment of narcotics, including 16 capsules of suspected fentanyl, six baggies of suspected cocaine, and 35 tablets of suspected Xanax.  Nozinord’s identification and mail addressed to him were also in the bag, along with $1,515 in cash.  The suspected fentanyl was later examined by the Palm Beach County Forensic Science Lab and determined to contain the same mixture of fentanyl, tramadol, xylazine, and cocaine as the capsules found in the victim’s motel room.  Nozinord’s DNA was also found on the on a blue baggie and pill bottle which contained narcotics inside the backpack, and a white baggie found next to the fentanyl pills in the decedent’s motel room. 

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Deanne L. Reuter, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, Miami Field Office, and Chief Sean Scheller, Lantana Police Department, announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks. 

The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Lantana Police Department, and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Dispoto and Shannon Shaw prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

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