Source: Office of United States Attorneys
MIAMI – This week, South Florida’s United States Attorney charged a 20-year-old Miami man with one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl resulting in death, and with one count of possession of a machinegun in the form of a “Glock switch” machine gun conversion device. (A Glock switch is a small device that, when attached to the rear or slide of a semi-automatic pistol, can convert the pistol into a fully automatic weapon).
According to allegations in the information, from at least as early as January 2024, through October 30, 2024, Domenic Pedre conspired to distribute fentanyl in South Florida, including the fentanyl dose associated with the August 2024 overdose death of a victim in Miami-Dade County.
Pedre faces a minimum of 20 years and up to life in prison for distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death or serious bodily injury. The United States has further alleged that Pedre is subject to forfeiture of $105,563 in cash proceeds related to the fentanyl distribution conspiracy.
Pedre also faces a maximum term of up to 10 years in prison for possession of the Glock switch machinegun conversion device.
The charges contained in the information are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
United States Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the DEA, Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the DEA, Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office and the City of Miami Police Department’s Gang Intelligence Unit, with assistance from the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office and the Florida Department of Corrections, Probation Services. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sterling M. Paulson.
Synthetic drugs such as fentanyl are poisoning the 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. Just one fentanyl pill can kill, as noted in DEA’s One Pill Can Kill campaign. 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.
You may find a copy of this press release (and any updates) on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl.
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 25-CR-20077.
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