Laquan De’Shay Jones Gets 7 Years for Fentanyl, Gun Charges

Laquan De’Shay Jones, 23, of Apopka, is headed to federal prison for seven years after being caught with nearly 15 grams of fentanyl and a loaded Glock pistol during a routine arrest on a probation violation warrant. U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. handed down the sentence in Orlando, Florida, slamming Jones for dealing deadly narcotics while packing heat.

Jones pleaded guilty on August 18, 2021, to two federal counts: possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The court also ordered the forfeiture of the firearm and ammunition seized during the arrest—clear evidence, prosecutors said, that Jones was operating as a full-time dealer.

According to court documents, Orange County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Jones on an active felony warrant. During a search of his vehicle, they found the loaded Glock within reach. But the real haul came from the trunk: a duffle bag stuffed with individual plastic bags of white powdered fentanyl, cutting agents, a digital scale, a blender, and playing cards bent in half—hallmarks of a street-level drug operation designed to portion and sell.

Jones admitted to being a fentanyl dealer, a confession that sealed his fate. The 15 grams recovered may sound small, but fentanyl is so potent that even trace amounts can be lethal. In a city already battling an opioid epidemic, federal prosecutors made it clear: arming yourself while dealing poison earns no leniency.

The defendant’s rap sheet is long and violent. Prior convictions include accessory after the fact to a first-degree felony, resisting an officer with violence, burglary, attempted burglary, and trespassing. Federal authorities labeled Jones a repeat offender with no regard for public safety—exactly the type of violent trafficker targeted under the DOJ’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative.

The case was investigated by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Gardella. As part of PSN, a data-driven federal strategy, authorities are cracking down on violent offenders who flood communities with drugs and firearms—making Jones’s seven-year sentence a warning shot to others lurking in the shadows.