TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Patrick Connolly was only 18 years old and a freshman student at the University of South Florida when he purchased three pills that he believed to be Percocet.
What Connolly didn’t know was that the pill he purchased was laced with fentanyl. He would be found dead in his dorm room by USF Police on February 16, 2024.
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U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida Greg Kehoe held a press conference on Friday to announce the sentences handed down earlier this week to multiple defendants who were convicted in Connolly’s death.
Miguel Cintron, 38, of Tampa, who Kehoe said sat at the top of the supply chain, was given a life sentence for his involvement.
His codefendant, 23-year-old Darrius Gustafson, of Tampa, was the one who sold the pills to Connolly, Kehoe said. He received a 21-year sentence.
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Both were found guilty of causing Connolly’s death in May 2026.
Cintron was arrested less than two months later, in April 2024, and was in possession of over 200 grams of fentanyl, Kehoe said.
Miguel Cintron (Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)
When the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and FBI searched his home, they found a large stash of drugs including six kilograms of cocaine, over 900 grams of heroin, over 900 grams of MDMA, around one pound of hallucinogens, two pounds of marijuana, and pressed fentanyl pills that matched those found near Connolly’s body.
Additionally, officers seized three firearms, extra rounds of ammunition, and $200,000 in cash.
Two more defendants were charged in connection with the 18-year-old’s death: Marquis Trent and David Chudhabuddhi. They both accepted plea deals and were sentenced to 8 and 12 years, respectively.
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