Armed Fentanyl Dealer Faces Life In Prison On Drug Charges: DOJ

BRADENTON, FL — A federal jury found a 32-year-old Bradenton man guilty of multiple gun- and drug-related charges that could land him in prison for life, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.

Johnny Ordaz was found guilty of possession of fentanyl with the intent to distribute it, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

For the fentanyl offense, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison, a consecutive mandatory minimum of five years and up to life in prison for possessing the firearm during a drug trafficking crime and up to 10 years for having a firearm as a felon, the DOJ said. Ordaz, who was indicted Feb. 13, 2020, will be sentenced Sept. 30.

According to testimony presented at trial, in September 2019, law enforcement officers conducted a traffic stop of a car that Ordaz was driving.

During the traffic stop, the officers recovered a firearm with an extended magazine loaded with 31 rounds of ammunition wedged between the driver’s seat and the center console, the DOJ said. They also seized a bag containing fentanyl from the driver’s side door handle, and a digital scale and small clear plastic baggies.

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Officers also found a bag in the passenger seat that contained another firearm with an extended clip loaded with 27 rounds of ammunition, 63 rounds of additional ammunition, another digital scale, sandwich bags and more small clear plastic baggies, the DOJ said. They also recovered $588 from Ordaz’s front pocket.