Four dead. One left with permanent damage. All fed the same poison from a Lakeland-based heroin and fentanyl ring now exposed by federal prosecutors. Eleven defendants, including key figures Hasan Pearson, a/k/a “Julio,” a/k/a “Hoov” (35, Lakeland); Salik Stevens, a/k/a “Carlito,” a/k/a “Dough” (35, Lakeland); William Jones, a/k/a “Book” (38, Mulberry); Dominic Matthews, a/k/a “Gargamel” (30, Lakeland); Ladarius Oglesby, a/k/a “Hitta” (23, Lakeland); Naboris Lampkin, a/k/a “Beezy” (32, Lakeland); Jeminine Poe (37, Lakeland); Prince Grant (36, Lakeland); Justin Lee Martin (33, Lakeland); John Evit Brown (51, Lakeland); and Dalyshia Dexter (27, Lakeland), are charged in a superseding 10-count indictment unsealed today in Tampa, Florida.
The indictment alleges a relentless, profit-driven conspiracy spanning from March 2016 to August 30, 2017, during which the group distributed more than one kilogram of heroin, 400 grams of fentanyl, and 100 grams of a fentanyl analogue across the Middle District of Florida. These synthetic and naturally derived opioids weren’t just flooding streets—they were killing. The charges include four counts of distribution resulting in death and one count of distribution resulting in serious bodily injury, each a testament to the human cost of the ring’s operations.
Each defendant faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. The charges mark a significant escalation in federal efforts to hold drug traffickers accountable not only for supply, but for the fatal consequences of their product. Prosecutors are treating these deaths not as tragic accidents, but as direct outcomes of criminal conduct—making this case one of the harshest federal crackdowns in recent Polk County history.
According to the Department of Justice, the investigation uncovered a tightly coordinated network that used coded language, fast-moving distribution cells, and multiple stash locations to evade law enforcement. Victims, whose identities remain protected, ingested what they believed to be regular heroin—only to collapse from fentanyl-laced batches so potent they shut down their central nervous systems within minutes.
The case was jointly investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the Lakeland Police Department, the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, the Hardee County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Evidence gathered over months of surveillance, wiretaps, and controlled buys helped dismantle the operation. Assistant United States Attorney Dan Baeza will lead the prosecution.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty. But in a community still reeling from opioid fallout, the names listed in this indictment are already etched in memory—linked forever to lives cut short by a high-stakes, lethal trade.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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