Blake Alfonso Kolessa, a 27-year-old resident of Greenacres, Florida, has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. The sentence was delivered by U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks on December 10 for charges related to the possession and intent to distribute metonitazene, N-desethyl isotonitazene, and methamphetamine. Following his prison term, Kolessa will undergo five years of supervised release.
Kolessa had earlier pleaded guilty to distributing thousands of pills containing these substances between January and June 2024. He also admitted to possessing over six kilograms of powders and pressed pills that included fentanyl, protonitazene, and N-pyrrolidino protonitazene.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida along with Special Agent in Charge Deanne Reuter from the DEA Miami Field Division and West Palm Beach Police Chief Tony Araujo.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA West Palm Beach office in collaboration with the West Palm Beach Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Funk led the prosecution.
According to information from the DEA’s National Drug Threat Assessment, nitazenes are synthetic opioids comparable to fentanyl in potency; some can even exceed it. These substances have been increasingly found mixed with fentanyl since 2019 in the United States. The combination intensifies effects and raises risks of fatal drug poisoning.
Fentanyl itself poses significant public health challenges as it is much stronger than heroin or morphine—up to 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. Even small amounts can be lethal; just two milligrams may cause death. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that synthetic opioids like fentanyl are prevalent in overdose fatalities across demographics nationwide, including an alarming number within Florida where over 5,622 deaths were reported due to such overdoses in 2022 alone.
For additional details about this case or related legal documents visit official websites provided by authorities including those belonging to United States Attorney’s Office for Southern District Florida as well as district court portals.