Florida resident sentenced to life for fentanyl distribution resulting in two deaths

FLORIDA — A federal judge has sentenced a Tampa man to life in prison for distributing fentanyl that led to the deaths of two individuals in 2021.

U.S. District Judge William F. Jung handed down the sentence to 39-year-old Marquis Lamar McCullough after a jury found him guilty on two counts of fentanyl distribution resulting in death and one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

McCullough received a life sentence for each distribution count and 30 years for the possession charge.

The sentences will be served consecutively to prison time McCullough is already serving in the Florida Department of Corrections.

According to court records, the investigation began on April 22, 2021, when Hillsborough County deputies responded to a wellness check at the home of a man identified as K.K., who was found dead.

Two baggies containing fentanyl were discovered at the scene.

Detectives traced communications on K.K.’s phone to a woman who admitted helping him buy fentanyl from McCullough after he was unable to obtain heroin from his usual source.

Just weeks later, on May 6, 2021, deputies found another man, N.M., dead in his home.

A baggie with fentanyl was located in his wallet, and investigators found that his final phone calls and texts had been to McCullough. Detectives attempted a controlled drug buy using N.M.’s phone to set up a meeting with McCullough.

When McCullough arrived and realized something was wrong, he fled but was quickly apprehended.

Medical examiners determined that fentanyl was the cause of death in both cases.

McCullough has a prior criminal history, including a five-year sentence for cocaine trafficking.

He was also convicted in 2022 on state charges of fentanyl trafficking and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and is currently serving a seven-year sentence for those offenses.

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, and the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Sinacore and Ross Roberts.