A Florida couple who disguised drugs as children’s snacks and sold them in their Tampa neighborhood – while coordinating deals from prison – will spend decades behind bars, authorities said.
Renee Stephens, 32, known as the “Candy Lady,” was sentenced to 60 years in prison after being convicted on fentanyl trafficking charges, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Thursday.
Her husband, Vincent Stephens, who is currently in state prison, was sentenced to an additional 30 years, to be served consecutively to the 20-year sentence he was already serving on a prior drug and firearm conviction.
Renee Stephens earned her nickname by selling marijuana-infused snacks disguised as popular treats, including candy, chips and cereal, to kids in the area, authorities said.
The investigation began in August 2023, when the Florida Department of Law Enforcement received a tip about Stephens’ drug trafficking activities.
Undercover agents conducted a series of controlled purchases over the next three months, during which time an agent witnessed Stephens handling fentanyl while holding her infant child. Officials said the child was present during multiple drug deals.
On December 11, 2023, agents executed a search warrant at Stephens’ home, seizing 153 grams of fentanyl, 100 fentanyl pills and marijuana, along with 63 individually packaged snacks resembling children’s foods but containing drugs.
Ashley Moody, who was serving as Florida’s attorney general at the time, said the amount of fentanyl seized was “enough to kill nearly 80,000 people.”
Investigators later determined that Vincent Stephens, who was incarcerated, was orchestrating the operation from prison. He communicated with his wife by phone and Facebook to coordinate drug deals and connect her with other inmates, authorities said.
Renee Stephens was arrested in December 2023 and convicted in January 2026 on multiple charges, including conspiracy to traffic in fentanyl, unlawful use of a two-way communication device and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Vincent Stephens was convicted of conspiracy to traffic fentanyl and will serve his new sentence after his current term.
“This couple was not only profiting from pushing poison into our communities, but they were also doing it in the presence of a young, vulnerable child,” Uthmeier said in the statement, according to WFLA.
“These drug traffickers have proven multiple times that they have no regard for the law. I am grateful to Assistant Statewide Prosecutors Luis Aguila and Gianna Fina for ensuring they will spend a very long time behind bars.”
