Former star Braden River High football player sentenced to prison on drug charges
A judge sentenced a former standout Braden River football player to 25 years in prison for drug trafficking, the State Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.
Craivon Dyshaun Koonce, 24, was convicted of armed trafficking more than 28 grams of fentanyl and possession of cocaine with intent to sell or deliver, according to a release. The verdict came Wednesday after a jury trial presided over by Circuit Court Judge Frederick Mercurio at the Manatee County Courthouse in downtown Bradenton, court records show.
The maximum possible sentence for the crimes was life in prison, with a mandatory minimum of 25 years, according to the release.
The State Attorney’s Office said Koonce must also pay a $500,000 fine.
On Dec. 11, 2021, Koonce was in the front passenger seat of a car that was stopped by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office in Ellenton for illegal window tint, according to an arrest report. During the stop, the deputy said the car smelled like marijuana and smoke was seen exiting the vehicle as the windows were opened.
When deputies searched the vehicle, prosecutors say they found a backpack on the front passenger floorboard in front of Koonce. Inside the backpack was a loaded firearm, 37 grams of fentanyl, multiple bags of cocaine, a scale, cash and multiple ID cards that had Koonce’s name on them, according to an affidavit.
Prosecutors say Koonce told officers the backpack belonged to him and later admitted the same thing during jail phone calls that were played for the jury during the trial, according to a release.
“Thanks to the efforts of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, over 28 grams of fentanyl were removed from the streets and seized from a drug dealer. This is significant because just one 2 milligram dose of fentanyl is enough to kill an adult, and the defendant had enough fentanyl in his possession to potentially kill over 14,000 adults,” said Assistant State Attorney Michael Anolfo in a news release.
Koonce was previously a standout wide receiver for Braden River High School, where he was their leading receiver in 2017, earning himself the nickname “Mr. Go Krazy” due to his ability to make plays on the football field.
