15-year prison term for providing fentanyl-heroin mix that killed Lake County woman, 27

Frank Stanfield
·4 min read
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TAVARES — A man charged with first-degree murder in a case where he allegedly mixed deadly fentanyl with heroin has pleaded no contest to manslaughter and was sentenced to a 15-year prison term on Monday.

Michael Lee Anderson, 32, was charged in the death of Stacey Creevy. He was scheduled to stand trial July 11.

Anderson, of Orlando, was arrested on a warrant in South Carolina on Dec. 11, 2020.

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The case started in August 2018

Rescue workers rushed to the 1000 block of Glenraven Court in Clermont on Aug. 9, 2018, and found Creevy, 27, who was unresponsive.

Prosecutors would later file a motion asking the court’s permission to admit evidence of prior crimes. On June 19, 2018, Anderson sold heroin mixed with fentanyl to an undercover agent in a sting operation.

His knowledge of the drugs “and the reasonably anticipated consequences that supplying them to the victim could cause her death, and the absence of a mistake by the defendant,” should be admitted as evidence, prosecutors argued in a court filing.

He entered pleas and was convicted of possession of fentanyl with intent to sell, sale of fentanyl and possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell on Feb. 24, 2020.

'My ray of sunlight'

“Stacey may not have been perfect, but if we are honest none of us are, but she was my ray of sunlight and my best friend and I miss her every minute of every day,” her mother, Michelle, said in a victim impact statement to Circuit Judge James Baxley.

“Stacey suffered much abuse by some of the men in her life, physically, emotionally, verbally and psychologically. In her last year she came to terms with the fact that she was not to blame for their actions,” she said.

She ripped Anderson in her statement, saying he was supposed to be her friend.

Stacey was the mother of two girls.

Anderson was given credit for 581 days spent in jail awaiting resolution of this case.

A similar case is pending in Lake County

He has not been the only defendant facing a murder charge in an overdose case.

Jalynn Davis, 36, was arrested and charged with the murder of Wesley Brown in Leesburg on June 1 or 2, 2021.

A witness said Brown purchased $20 in drugs he believed to be heroin. More than a month later, the Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the cause of death as fentanyl toxicity.

“The toxicology report indicated 17 ng of fentanyl per ML of blood. An estimate of 3 ng/ML can be lethal…” the arrest affidavit stated.

Davis faces drug charges stemming from an incident on May 30, 2021.

Lake County sheriff’s deputies responded to a single-vehicle car crash where the vehicle crossed the highway and struck a tree.

When Davis got out of the vehicle, she was clutching a bag. Asked what was in the bag, she replied, “some pills,” according to the arrest affidavit.

She was charged with possession of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia.

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The battle against fentanyl

Fentanyl is a sinister, unwelcome addition to the drug scene, according to law enforcement.

The flakes of fentanyl on the right amount to a lethal dose, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
The flakes of fentanyl on the right amount to a lethal dose, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

The highly toxic drug is sold in lieu of heroin or mixed with that opiate, causing several deaths.

On June 29, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office held a press conference to announce a record seizure of fentanyl over the course of four months and with the collaboration of state and federal agencies.

The drugs were coming into the country from Mexico across California and Texas borders, then shipped to Florida.

Twenty-seven people were charged, and detectives seized four vehicles, 13 firearms (three of which were stolen), $12,000 cash, and more than three pounds of fentanyl ($116,000 street value).

They also confiscated 22 pounds of meth ($110,000 street value, 15 pounds of marijuana ($21,000), two pounds of cocaine ($40,000), and more than five ounces of heroin ($12,000), as well as other drugs, according to a press release.

This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Man in Lake County, Florida gets 15-year prison term in drug death