An investigation that started with a planned $20 crack cocaine buy last year ended Thursday with a Panama City man being found guilty of Trafficking in Fentanyl and Cocaine, as well as other charges, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
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A jury found Stanley Ashe, 38, guilty of Trafficking in Fentanyl, Trafficking in Cocaine, Possession of Methamphetamine, Unlawful Use of a Two-Way Communications Device, and two misdemeanors.
Lead Prosecutor Nichole Pieper referenced the defendant’s lengthy criminal history and the rash of Fentanyl-related overdoses across the state while asking Circuit Court Judge Timothy Register for the maximum sentence. The Fentanyl weighed between 14-28 grams, so under Florida’s drug trafficking laws the defendant faced a minimum 15-year sentence and up to 30 years on that charge alone.
Register agreed, noting the defendant had multiple previous convictions, and sentenced him to 30 years on that charge. His prison time on the other charges will run concurrent with the 30-year sentence.
“As long as traffickers continue to bring these poisons into our communities, our law enforcement agencies will continue to pursue them and our office will continue to put them away for as long as possible,” Pieper said. “The Panama City Police Department put together a strong case for prosecution and their actions kept a large number of deadly drugs from ever reaching the streets.”
Pieper and co-Prosecutor Morgan McAfee called 5 witnesses and introduced evidence showing that Panama City police carried out a “controlled phone call” between a confidential informant and the defendant on April 5, 2022.
Testimony showed that the defendant met with the person at a location near U.S. 231 and Martin Luther King, Jr., Boulevard, to sell $20 worth of crack cocaine. Capt. Kristain Shaw, Inv. Ray McNeil and Sgt. Joshua Seigler set up surveillance, but the deal was not consummated.
Officers knew the defendant did not have a valid driver’s license and conducted a traffic stop. They smelled the odor of marijuana and found methamphetamine in the defendant’s wallet. Inside was a backpack with 22 grams of Fentanyl, about 30 grams of Cocaine, 18 multi-colored pills containing Fentanyl, and Methamphetamine. They also found a loaded .38-caliber revolver and a digital scale.
Basford thanked Panama City police for their work on the case that prevented a large quantity of drugs from being sold on the street.
For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.