Clewiston Career Offender Sentenced to More Than 19 Years in Federal Prison for Distributing Fentanyl

Fort Myers, Florida - Johnny Lewis Hunter (53, Clewiston) has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kyle Dudek to 19 years and 2 months in federal prison for distributing fentanyl. He pleaded guilty on June 3, 2026. United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.

According to court records, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) received information that Hunter was distributing fentanyl in Moore Haven and Clewiston. Between January 6 and February 5, 2026, an undercover agent purchased a total of 139 grams of fentanyl from Hunter in Moore Haven. On March 26, 2026, the DEA executed an arrest warrant on Hunter and located an additional 81.4 grams of fentanyl in his possession.

Hunter was sentenced as a career offender due to his two prior federal drug trafficking convictions. At the time of arrest, Hunter was under supervised release for conspiracy to distribute cocaine base and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime out of the Western District of Virginia (5:14-cr-02) for which he previously served 10 years in federal prison. He also had a prior federal conviction for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and cocaine base out of the Middle District of Florida (5:00-cr-38) for which he served 13 years in federal prison.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration with assistance from the Hendry County Sheriff's Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Redavid.