Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge William F. Jung has sentenced Jarran Riley (37, Clearwater) to 15 years in federal prison for distributing narcotics. Riley had pleaded guilty on December 9, 2021.
According to court documents, on June 5, 2019, at approximately 10:30 p.m., detectives from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Dunedin Cove Motel regarding the opioid overdose death of N.R. On the same day, detectives interviewed Heidi Kalous who had distributed the narcotics to N.R. Motel video surveillance and phone records showed that Kalous had obtained the narcotics from Riley before Kalous distributed them to the victim. Riley later distributed narcotics to confidential informants on two occasions in August 2019.
On October 8, 2019, Riley was arrested for fleeing and eluding, a state offense, and was released on a bond the same day. Approximately 14 hours after bonding out of state custody, on October 8, 2019, Riley was captured on video surveillance distributing controlled substances to M.J. Less than five hours later, M.J. was pronounced dead, the result of a multi-drug overdose. The following day, Riley was arrested again by local law enforcement. On November 15, 2019, Riley posted bond and was released from state custody. While on bond for his state distribution offenses, and after N.R. and M.J. had died, Riley continued to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, doing so on January 21, 23, and January 28, 2020. On February 12, 2020, agents executed a federal search warrant at Riley’s residence, and Riley was taken into federal custody.
Kalous was also charged with drug distribution offenses. On February 24, 2022, she was sentenced to eight years in federal prison.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, and the Clearwater Police Department as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes.
This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.