Bradenton drug dealer sentenced to prison after selling ‘Scooby snacks,’ prosecutors say
A Bradenton man will spend nearly two decades in federal prison after being convicted on drug and gun charges after prosecutors say he used Cash App to sell fentanyl.
A federal judge sentenced Andre Adams Jr., 43, to 19 years in federal prison following his conviction for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession of a firearm for a drug trafficking crime and possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon, according to court records.
Adams faced between five and 40 years federal prison, the Bradenton Herald previously reported.
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office began investigating Adams after receiving a complaint that someone in Bradenton was selling fentanyl through Cash App, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida said. Prosecutors say detectives determined this person to be Adams. Over the next several months, investigators said they saw frequent visitors meet with Adams briefly at his home where they “appeared to make exchanges with him.”
Adams’ Cash App records showed that tens of thousands of dollars had been paid to him over a short period of time. Investigators said many of the senders had known drug addiction problems and used coded drug language like “Scooby snacks,” a street term for heroin or fentanyl.
On Aug. 4, 2022, detectives searched Adams’ home, where they say they found a loaded handgun, $22,000 in cash, 400 grams of cocaine, 55 grams of meth, 80 grams of fentanyl, a money counter, a kilo press, as well as drug cutting agents and scales.
After searching Adams’ storage unit, detectives say they found three more guns, including an AK-47 rifle, several dozen rounds of ammunition, two kilograms of cocaine, more than 350 grams of meth and more drug-cutting agents and a digital scale.
Adams had previously been convicted of trafficking in cocaine and served 15 years in prison, according to a news release. As a convicted felon, Adams is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.
U.S. District Judge Virginia Hernandez Covington sentenced Adams in a Tampa courtroom on Monday following July’s guilty verdict, according to court records.
