Skip to main content
Press Release

Lakeland Man Pleads Guilty To Distributing Fentanyl, Causing Two Deaths

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Wilson Angelo Graham, Jr., a/k/a “Noony” (34, Lakeland) pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, resulting in two deaths. He faces a minimum penalty of 20 years, up to life, in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

Fentanyl is a Schedule II controlled substance that is used in the same manner as heroin. Because of its potency, a small amount of fentanyl is potentially lethal.

According to the plea agreement, from at least October 3, 2015, through his arrest on October 28, 2015, Graham distributed fentanyl and cocaine in Lakeland. Beginning on October 3rd, Graham sent messages to “D.G.” about fentanyl that Graham had available to sell. Graham also advised “D.G.” that the fentanyl was too strong to use more than half a baggie at once. Between October 3rd and October 16, 2015, “D.G.” made multiple trips to Graham’s residence.

On the evening of October 16, 2015, the body of “B.S.,” the girlfriend of “D.G.,” was found slumped over a coffee table in her parents’ guest cottage in Lakeland. During a search of the guest cottage, detectives with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) located syringes, spoons with burned residue, and an empty package with drug residue. The empty package was light blue; stamped on the package were the words “Face to Face” and a silhouette of two heads facing each other. Laboratory testing of the residues from the spoons and package revealed the presence of fentanyl. A lethal amount of fentanyl was found in “B.S.’s” body.

On the morning of October 22, 2015, the Lakeland Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit responded to an apartment in Lakeland, where they found the body of “D.G.” on the kitchen floor. Near the body, detectives located numerous pieces of drug paraphernalia, including spoons with burned residue and an empty package with drug residue resembling the empty package found near the body of “B.S.” Light blue wax paper, with the words “Face to Face,” and a silhouette of two heads facing each other, were also found. Laboratory testing of the spoon and package residues revealed the presence of fentanyl and one of the spoons revealed the presence of cocaine. A lethal amount of fentanyl was found in “D.G.’s” body and evidence revealed that “D.G.” was at Graham’s residence the night before he died.

On October 28, 2015, PCSO detectives executed a search warrant at Graham’s residence. During the search, detectives found eight baggies containing fentanyl. At least one of the baggies resembled the baggies found near the bodies of “B.S.” and “D.G.” 

This case was investigated by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the Lakeland Police Department, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Baeza.

 

Updated December 12, 2017

Attachment
Topics
Opioids
Drug Trafficking