Orlando man found guilty of selling pills laced with fentanyl resulting in a woman’s death

ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orlando man is facing decades in federal prison after a jury found him guilty of conspiring to distribute fentanyl that resulted in a death.

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According to court documents, Between April 2020 and April 2022, 42-year-old Joel Fonseca-Flores and a co-conspirator, Misty Lynn Parady, sold fake “M30″ pills laced with fentanyl to the victim, identified only as “N.K.”

According to records, the victim initially believed the pills contained oxycodone but later learned they contained fentanyl after receiving the results of a drug test.

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Specifically, on Oct. 31, investigators say the victim sent Parady a text message warning her that she had tested positive for fentanyl.

The victim went on to relay that same information to Fonseca-Flores.

On March 31, within days of buying more “M30″ pills from Fonseca-Flores, N.K. sent another text message to Parady with an image of her drug test showing that she had tested negative for oxycodone and positive for fentanyl.

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Despite the victim’s warnings, investigators say Fonseca-Flores and Parady continued to provide her with the counterfeit fentanyl pills until she ultimately died from a fentanyl overdose on April 4, 2022.

Parady pleaded guilty to superseding information on May 24, 2024, and faces up to 20 years in federal prison. Parady’s sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 26.

For his role, Fonseca-Flories faces a maximum mandatory sentence of 20 years, up to life, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 7.

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Fonseca-Flores must also forfeit all firearms and ammunition involved in or used in the charged crimes, including a Ruger 9mm pistol.

The case was investigated by the Orlando Police Department’s Overdose Unit and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The investigation was carried out as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, which aims to reduce violent crime by identifying problem areas in different communities and developing solutions to address them.

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