On January 30, a federal district judge in West Palm Beach, Florida sentenced Anthony Raul Del Valle to ten years in prison. The 29-year-old from Lake Worth Beach was found guilty by a federal jury of distributing fentanyl and acetyl fentanyl, and possessing a firearm in connection with drug trafficking.
The charges stem from an incident on April 8, 2024, when Del Valle distributed pills resembling oxycodone but containing fentanyl and acetyl fentanyl to three family members in Lantana, Florida. Two of the recipients died within two hours of ingestion.
Law enforcement agents identified Del Valle as the source of the lethal pills following a controlled purchase on April 10, 2024. A loaded firearm was also recovered during his arrest.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division.
The investigation involved multiple agencies including the DEA's Miami Field Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Miami Field Office, Lantana Police Department, Boynton Beach Police Department, and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Shannon O’Shea Darsch and Alexandra Chase led the prosecution.
The DEA’s National Drug Threat Assessment highlights the danger posed by synthetic drugs like fentanyl which are linked to increasing overdose deaths nationwide. Fentanyl is significantly more potent than heroin or morphine and can be fatal even in small amounts. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 150 people die daily from overdoses involving synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.
Florida has seen a rise in such incidents with over 5,622 deaths attributed to fentanyl-related overdoses in 2022 alone.
For further details about this case or related court documents, visit the websites of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida or the District Court for the Southern District of Florida under case number 24-cr-80062.