Fentanyl Overdose Death Leads To Conviction Of New Port Richey Man

NEW PORT RICHEY, FL — A federal jury has found Justin Kelly, 35, of New Port Richey guilty of conspiracy to distribute 40 grams of fentanyl resulting in an overdose death.

The jury also found Kelly guilty of distributing fentanyl resulting in death, three counts of possession and distribution of fentanyl, and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

Due to his six prior felony convictions for cocaine distribution in two separate cases, Kelly faces a mandatory sentence of life in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 17.

According to evidence presented at trial, Kelly was a supplier of fentanyl in Pasco County, using addicts to sell the drug for him and collecting thousands of dollars in profit every day.

In the early hours of Nov. 18, 2020, a man was found face down in his kitchen in New Port Richey by his wife, while his stepchildren were asleep a few feet away. Detectives from the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office learned that a dealer named Steven Kinney had supplied the fentanyl to the dead man. Kinney identified Kelly as his supplier and made recorded purchases of fentanyl from him.

Search warrants executed at Kelly’s motel room and a storage unit resulted in the seizures of additional fentanyl, cash, kilogram presses, digital scales and an M&P 15 rifle. Cell phone records corroborated that Kelly was the supplier of the fentanyl that Kinney had distributed to the overdose victim.

This operation was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Tarpon Springs Police Department.