Broward Man Sentenced to 11 Years in Federal Prison on Gun and Drug Charges

MIAMI – United States District Judge Raag Singhal has sentenced 38-year-old career offender David Lee Pitts to 135 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute cocaine, fentanyl, and oxycodone and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Pitts, who has prior felony convictions, pled guilty to these charges on Sept. 4, 2024.

The facts: On April 26, 2024, law enforcement officers saw Pitts drive up to a storage facility in Pompano, Florida and transfer two bags of what appeared to be illegal drugs from Pitts’ storage unit to his car. Pitts noticed law enforcement vehicles at the main gate and decided to make a run for it, leading officers on a foot chase. Pitts tried getting rid of the bags he had taken from storage by throwing them on a nearby roof. Officers caught Pitts and arrested him. They recovered the bags and determined that they contained cocaine and alpha-PVP (or flakka), a dangerous synthetic street drug.

Officers searched Pitts’ storage unit, pursuant to a warrant. They found more cocaine and flakka, plus fentanyl, oxycodone, and a Glock 30S, .45 caliber pistol with a magazine and ammunition.

U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division, made the announcement.

DEA Miami and Broward Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Latoya C. Brown prosecuted it.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.  For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.

You may find a copy of this press release (and any updates) on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 24-cr-60085.

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