United States v. Corey Gaddy

── United States v. Corey Gaddy ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Date: June 10, 2026 Category: NEW USCA11 Case: 24-11725 Document: 58-1 Date Filed: 06/10/2026 Page: 1 of 10 NOT FOR PUBLICATION In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 24-11725 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus COREY GADDY, Defendant-Appellant. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 8:20-cr-00262-WFJ-AEP-2 ____________________ Before JORDAN, KIDD, and TJOFLAT, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Corey Gaddy appeals his 216-month prison sentence for crimes related to the distribution of a mixture or substance con- taining fentanyl. We affirm his sentence. USCA11 Case: 24-11725 Document: 58-1 Date Filed: 06/10/2026 Page: 2 of 10 2 Opinion of the Court 24-11725 I. BACKGROUND Beginning in the summer of 2017, Corey Gaddy and Shawn Rodriguez orchestrated a drug-dealing operation in the Madeira Beach area. According to Rodriguez’s trial testimony, Gaddy regu- larly supplied Rodriguez with heroin and fentanyl, which Rodri- guez subsequently distributed to the coastal community. After law enforcement linked Gaddy and Rodriguez’s operation to the fenta- nyl overdoses of J.C., A.R., K.E., and J.P., 1 the two men were in- dicted by a grand jury. In the original indictment, the grand jury listed charges against Gaddy and Rodriguez. Count I charged both men with con- spiracy to distribute and possess a controlled substance resulting in the death of K.E. Count II charged them with possessing with in- tent to distribute and distribution of a controlled substance result- ing in the death of K.E. 2 Both counts included the involvement of fentanyl, making both punishable under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(C). 3 1 K.E.’s and J.P.’s overdoses resulted in their deaths. 2 The original indictment also included Count III which charged only Rodri- guez with possession with intent to distribute. 3 That statute provides statutory maximum and minimum penalties for drug crimes involving a schedule I or II controlled substance where “death or seri- ous bodily injury results from the use of such substance.” 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(C). USCA11 Case: 24-11725 Document: 58-1 Date Filed: 06/10/2026 Page: 3 of 10 24-11725 Opinion of the Court 3 In the first superseding indictment, the grand jury altered the charges slightly. To Count I, they added that the conspiracy re- sulted in the death of K.E. as well as the serious bodily injuries of J.C. and A.R. The grand jury left Count II unchanged. 4 Rodriguez pleaded guilty to Count I of the first superseding indictment in a written plea agreement in which he promised to cooperate with the Government. Finally, the grand jury issued the second superseding indict- ment, which is the operative indictment relevant to this appeal. It charged Gaddy with the following: • Count I: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute contr