TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - A Florida man has pleaded guilty to selling fentanyl that led to a drowning death.
John Sibley, 33, pleaded guilty in Tampa federal court Wednesday to distribution of fentanyl resulting in death, according to court records. He faces a possible life sentence.
According to a plea agreement, Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office detectives and the Treasure Island Police Department’s marine unit found a man’s body floating in the water near a small St. Petersburg marina last June with evidence of drug use nearby.
Investigators determined the immediate cause of death was drowning, but an autopsy revealed that the victim wouldn’t have drowned if not for the presence of fentanyl in his system. Further investigation identified Sibley as the supplier of the powerful opioid.
Four days after the body was found, an undercover detective and a confidential source obtained fentanyl from Sibley. The phone Sibley used to arrange the deal was the same one that had been used to set up the fatal transaction days earlier.
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