FORT MYERS, Fla. — A Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Fort Myers investigation has led to a guilty verdict for a Florida man after a bench trial for trafficking fentanyl.
Nicholas P. Smith, 45, of Fort Myers, has been found guilty of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance following a bench trial before U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell. Smith faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 18, 2024.
According to evidence presented at trial, officers with the Fort Myers Police Department stopped Smith for multiple traffic infractions near Winkler Avenue and Fowler Street in Fort Myers Sept. 5, 2023. During a subsequent search of Smith, officers retrieved a large plastic bag containing 11 smaller bags of a pink powdery substance that later tested positive for Para-fluorofentanyl and fentanyl.
HSI Fort Myers and the Fort Myers Police Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick L. Darcey is prosecuting it.
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