Armed Fort Pierce Drug Dealer Sentenced to Prison

MIAMI – Kwuan Montrell Baker, 32, of Fort Pierce, Fla., has been sentenced to 90 months in prison for armed drug trafficking by U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon. 

Baker previously pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. 

According to the court record, on April 6, 2021, deputies from the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop of a Chevy Silverado in Fort Pierce, in which Baker was a passenger. Shortly after Baker was removed from the vehicle, law enforcement seized a loaded Smith & Wesson, Model 22A, .22 caliber semi-automatic pistol from his waistband. A search of Baker further revealed several plastic sandwich bags and multiple capsules that contained two grams of fentanyl and $1,314 in U.S. currency. Baker ultimately admitted he had intended to distribute the seized fentanyl and that he possessed the loaded firearm in furtherance of his drug trafficking. 

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Christopher A. Robinson, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division, and St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken J. Mascara made the announcement.

ATF, Miami Field Division, and the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael D. Porter and Luisa Berti.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. It can be deadly even in small doses. 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, fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are the most common drugs involved in overdose deaths. More than 150 people die every day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl. The State of Florida also has seen an exponential increase in overdoses associated with fentanyl. In 2020, more than 6,150 people died in Florida from overdoses involving fentanyl and illicit alterations of 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.