KEY WEST, August 19, 2019 – A Key West man has been ordered to prison for 20 months after pleading out in two drug cases.
Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Mark Jones handed down the sentence to Frederick Maurer III, 33, on August 8 after Maurer pleaded no contest to sale of heroin, sale of a substance in lieu of a controlled substance and two counts of using a two-way communications device to facilitate a felony. Assistant State Attorney Patrick Flanigan represented the state.
In one case, on April 27, 2017, Key West police set up a controlled purchase of oxycodone pills using a confidential informant. The informant called Maurer and they met in front of Maurer’s apartment on Olivia Street and waited for Maurer’s supplier to bring the drugs. The supplier didn’t have oxycodone but said he did have heroin so the deal was made for $50 for a small bag of heroin. The supplier left to get the drugs, then returned and gave them to Maurer, who sold them to the informant. Police sent the bag to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for testing, and the FDLE lab confirmed it was heroin.
The other case, from May 19, 2017, also involved Key West police using a confidential informant to purchase narcotics. In a recorded telephone call, Maurer agreed to sell the informant $150 worth of heroin on Havana Lane, near Maurer’s apartment. The informant gave Maurer the money, Maurer left for a time, then returned and the transaction was completed.
The supposed drugs were sent to the FDLE lab for testing but the results came back “no controlled substances.” Still, selling a substance under the guise it’s a controlled substance is illegal in Florida.