Fifth Judicial Circuit of Florida
Today, seven-time convicted felon 41-year-old HeatherLynne Duarte-Wright was sentenced to 27 years in the Florida Department ofCorrections for Trafficking in Fentanyl and Possession of Paraphernalia.
Duarte-Wright was found guilty by a jury after her trial back in January ofthis year.
“Fentanyl continues to claim lives in our community, making it crucial for ouroffice to prosecute fentanyl traffickers and hold them accountable for thecrippling and deadly impacts they’ve inflicted on our community,” said WalterForgie, Chief Assistant State Attorney.
On August 10, 2023, a Citrus County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) deputy conducted atraffic stop on a motor scooter that did not have a license plate attached.
Once stopped, both the driver of the scooter and the passenger, lateridentified as Duarte-Wright, were asked to step off. When the defendantstepped off the scooter, the law enforcement officer noticed a black zipperedpouch sticking halfway from under the bottom of her shirt.
When questioned as to what the item was, Duarte-Wright admitted to the officerthat it was paraphernalia and a little bit of Fentanyl. At that time, the CCSOdeputy removed the black pouch from the defendant’s person while securingDuarte-Wright. Inside the zippered pouch, a clear plastic baggy containing awhite substance and hypodermic needles were located.
The white substance was then field tested and yielded positive results forFentanyl, weighing approximately 20 grams. Additional testing by the FloridaDepartment of Law Enforcement confirmed the presence of Fentanyl.Assistant State Attorneys Patsey Jacobs and Elizabeth Colombrito successfullyprosecuted this case.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine, is a lethal threat in Central Florida, where even 2 milligrams can kill. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd has called it “the devil’s drug,” warning of its deadly spread. Often laced into other drugs unbeknownst to users, it drove over 70,000 U.S. overdose deaths in 2023, per the CDC.
