A Cincinnati man will spend the next 25 years in federal prison after a Northern Kentucky fentanyl sale he orchestrated led to a fatal overdose, and after he later tried to destroy the phone evidence that helped convict him. Chief U.S. District Judge David Bunning delivered the 300-month sentence to 25-year-old Juan Wesley McKenzie Jr. at the federal courthouse in Covington, Kentucky.
The case began when investigators used a victim’s cellphone to arrange controlled purchases, ultimately leading to the arrests of Steffany Keene and Andrew Rossi, according to WKRC. Laboratory analysis verified that the pills seized in the case contained fentanyl, and an autopsy confirmed fentanyl toxicity as the victim’s cause of death after they consumed the pills. Keene had sold several fentanyl pills to the victim, and investigators determined that Rossi had distributed portions of those pills to her.
Tracing the Supply Chain Back to Cincinnati
Once in custody, Keene and Rossi both admitted their roles in the distribution chain and confirmed McKenzie as their supplier, per the station’s report. McKenzie had supplied the fentanyl pills to Rossi, who then passed portions along to Keene before the fatal sale. Both co-defendants pleaded guilty to distribution and possession of fentanyl resulting in death, with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky confirming that Keene received a 144-month sentence in June 2026 and Rossi received a 150-month sentence in July 2026, ahead of McKenzie’s own sentencing.
McKenzie’s case carried an added aggravating factor: while held in detention awaiting trial in 2025, he directed an outside associate to alter or destroy seized mobile phones in an attempt to impede the federal investigation, according to the same federal announcement. That obstruction attempt targeted the very digital evidence that had allowed investigators to trace the fatal transaction upward from Keene to Rossi to McKenzie. Prosecutors also noted McKenzie has a prior conviction for trafficking a fentanyl-related compound, per the article’s report.
Mandatory Minimums Leave Little Room for Leniency
Under 21 U.S.C. ยง 841(b)(1)(C), distributing controlled substances that result in death or serious bodily injury carries a mandatory minimum of 20 years in federal prison, with mandatory life imprisonment possible for defendants with a prior felony drug trafficking conviction, according to The Law Office of Matthew Galluzzo, PLLC. Because federal sentences eliminated parole for offenses committed after November 1, 1987 under the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, McKenzie will be required to serve at least 85% of his 25-year term through standard good-conduct credit rather than facing a parole board, per the U.S. Parole Commission…