Tallahassee man sentenced to 20 years in prison for drug trafficking

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - A Tallahassee man was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to multiple counts of distribution of fentanyl.

Stephen Jerome Brinson, 47, was under supervision after his release from federal prison for his 2005 narcotics conviction.

In early 2021, investigators with the Leon County Sheriff’s Office and Drug Enforcement Administration developed information that Brinson, who was then serving a period of court-ordered supervision following his prior 84-month sentence for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and cocaine base, was resuming his drug trafficking activities, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

After conducting two controlled purchases, officers learned the drugs Brinson was trafficking is fentanyl.

Brison was arrested and taken into custody where he has remained pending sentencing, according to the release.

“Last year, 68% of the American lives lost to drug overdoses and poisonings were due to an illicit synthetic opioid, like fentanyl, the same poison that Mr. Brinson was distributing in his community,” DEA Miami Field Division Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter said in the news release.

Brinson was sentenced to just under twenty years (239 months) in federal prison.