Kissimmee Drug Dealer Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison

MIAMI – A man was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for drug trafficking. The defendant had previously pleaded guilty to distribution of methamphetamine and fentanyl in February.

On Aug. 21, 2024, Jardon Kianu Jackson, 34, of Kissimmee, Fla., sold 442.2 grams of methamphetamine in Sebastian, Fla. Then, on Oct. 22, 2024, Jackson sold 53.02 grams of fentanyl in Fellsmere, Fla.

U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division, Sheriff Paul Blackman of the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), Sheriff Eric Flowers of the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office (IRCSO) and Sheriff Noel E. Stephen of Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks.

The DEA Miami Field Division, HCSO, IRCSO and Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Porter prosecuted the case.

According to the DEA’s National Drug Threat Assessment, synthetic drugs, such as fentanyl, are poisoning our nation.  Fentanyl has proven to be a deadly poison that does not discriminate.  Its victims include every gender, race, age, and economic background, and its debilitating effects are the same across all demographics. 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. 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.  In 2022, more than 5,622 people died from overdoses involving fentanyl and fentanyl analogs in Florida.

For more information visit:  https://www.fdle.state.fl.us/MEC/Publications-and-Forms/Documents/Drugs-in-Deceased-Persons/2022-Annual-Drug-Report-FINAL-(1).aspx; https://www.cdc.gov/opioids/basics/fentanyl.html; and https://www.dea.gov/factsheets/fentanyl.

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, under case number 24-cr-14066.

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