South Florida man convicted in fentanyl trafficking conspiracy, faces life sentence
A Fort Pierce jury found Belas Shelson Rosier, 34, guilty for his involvement in a fentanyl trafficking conspiracy after a four-day trial Tuesday.
After a four-day trial, a jury has found a Palm Beach County man guilty for his role in a fentanyl trafficking conspiracy, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Belas Shelson Rosier, 34, of Greenacres, faces a maximum life prison sentence, according to court records. He will be sentenced in December by U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon in Fort Pierce in St. Lucie County.
Federal agents, the West Palm Beach Police Department and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigations that led to Rosier and one of his street-level distributor’s arrests, Justin Jordan Garth, according to court records. Their investigation of Garth led to Rosier’s connection.
Before Garth’s arrest, West Palm Beach Police agents conducted controlled purchases for cocaine and fentanyl from Garth between January and March 2022 using a confidential informant, according to Garth’s plea agreement.
According to Rosier’s criminal complaint filed this January, federal agents and West Palm Beach Police executed a search warrant at Garth’s West Palm Beach apartment in March 2022 and found over 700 grams of fentanyl and over 700 grams of cocaine and multiple guns and cellphones. Text messages between Garth and Rosier’s phone numbers discussed pricing for the drugs, money transfers for tens of thousands of dollars and meet-up times and places.
Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Division agents searched Rosier’s trash at his home in June 2022 at least twice and found wet plastic bags that tested positive for cocaine, the complaint said. Later that month, authorities searched the home, finding boxes in the garage with powders and rocklike substances that tested positive for cocaine and fentanyl, drug-processing tools and gloves.
Authorities recovered hundreds of grams of substances containing fentanyl and cocaine at the home, the complaint said. Rosier’s fingerprints were on a blender cup, which the federal special agent said in the complaint is often used in making the drugs.
The jury returned their verdict Tuesday, finding Rosier guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl, and possession with intent to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl, in addition to fentanyl analogs and cocaine.
Federal prosecutors said in a news release Thursday that the evidence at Rosier’s trial showed he was responsible for distributing at least six kilograms of fentanyl between October 2021 and March 2022. Federal agents took over $50,000 in cash and $50,000 in jewelry from Rosier during their investigation.
Garth entered a plea agreement in August 2022 and was sentenced in October that year. He is currently held in a medium-security federal prison in Sumter County, Federal Bureau of Prisons records show. His release date is in February 2035.