Lee County man convicted for trafficking heroin

Apr 30, 2009 1 min read

Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that a Lee County man was convicted for trafficking heroin and conspiring to traffic heroin. Ernest Nash faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 25 years in prison when he is sentenced at a later date. He was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.

Nash, 52, was arrested in March 2008 after the Fort Myers Police Department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement overhead conversations between Nash, co-defendant Cynthia Mitchell, and the informant. The informant, Nash and Nash’s co-defendant Cynthia Mitchell

drove to Miami to purchase 28 grams of heroin. The informant and the

defendants then drove back to Fort Myers where Nash and Mitchell were arrested.

Nash, who has a lengthy criminal history including narcotics-related charges, was convicted of trafficking in heroin, four grams or more, and conspiracy to traffic in heroin, 28 grams or more. A Lee County jury returned the guilty verdict late this afternoon. The charges against Mitchell are still pending.