Evergreen Reporter

U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Joseph Marion, 41, of St. Petersburg, to life in federal prison for multiple drug-related offenses and sex trafficking. The charges include conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and crack cocaine; distributing fentanyl; distributing a mixture of fentanyl and heroin that resulted in serious bodily injury; and possessing these substances with the intent to distribute them. As part of his sentence, Marion was ordered to forfeit $13,190 recovered from his pocket at the time of his arrest.

Evidence presented during the trial revealed that Marion imported fentanyl and its analogues from China via U.S. mail. He blended and packaged the drugs himself before selling them to various street dealers who further distributed them to users. One street dealer testified that she purchased between 40-100 bags of fentanyl from Marion daily over several years. Marion sold between 7.1 and 17.8 kilograms of fentanyl to this dealer alone—an amount sufficient to potentially kill over 70,000 people.

In November 2019, a woman in Marion's apartment mistakenly snorted his fentanyl thinking it was heroin and nearly died as a result. Paramedics saved her life after she was hospitalized for several days.

Marion also trafficked women for sex by recruiting those addicted to his drugs and then advertising and managing them as prostitutes.

The case was investigated by multiple agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Secret Service, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, the St. Petersburg Police Department, and the Clearwater Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Michael M. Gordon prosecuted the case.