COLLIER COUNTY
The United States Attorney’s Office says a man from Naples has pled guilty to several charges, including being in possession of a gun in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Giovanni Francois, 23, pled guilty to possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon, possessing with the intent to distribute fentanyl and MDMA, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes.
The United States Attorney’s Office says Francois was arrested after an attempted traffic stop in Collier County in January 2022. Deputies say the car fled, and Francois, the passenger, began throwing things out of his window.
Deputies say Francois threw a bag containing various items, including a chamber-loaded 9mm pistol, a large clear bag containing multiple empty packages consistent with narcotics sales, a box containing various drugs, including MDMA, more than 28 grams of cocaine, and a bag of powder containing fentanyl.
Once the car was stopped, deputies searched it and found a plastic bottle with additional suspected fentanyl powder and two small clear plastic baggies containing cocaine base.
Francois faces a minimum sentence of five years and as much as life in prison for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
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