FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A 45-year-old Florida man has been charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl to federal prisons using a drone, U.S. attorney Eric Grant announced Friday.
James Key III of Eustis, Florida, was charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, federal prosecutors said.
Between December 16, 2024 and August 17, 2025, Key worked with federal Prison Bureau prison inmates to introduce fentanyl and smuggled cell phones to prison facilities in Atwater, California, and to other prisons in Florida and South Carolina, according to court documents.
Prosecutors say Key and his conspirators applied fentanyl to the paper, bundled it, wrapped it in synthetic grass, and delivered it to prison by drone.
If convicted, Key could face a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years and a $1 million fine in prison.
