Judge sentences drug dealer to 5 years in prison for fatal overdose of sheriff candidate’s son

Days before the election, a judge on Tuesday sentenced a Gainesville man to five years in prison for selling drugs that led to the fatal overdose of the adult son of the Democratic candidate in the sheriff’s race.

Under the plea agreement, 46-year-old Jose “Albey” Alberto Coronel was sentenced to prison on five felony drug possession and trafficking charges related to the August 2023 death of 29-year-old Chad Scott Jr.

Coronel spent 425 days in jail awaiting the outcome of his criminal case, so the judge said this time would be deducted from his prison sentence. The judge also sentenced him to two years of supervised release after his release from prison.

In the courtroom, Coronel made no statement about his crime but asked Circuit Judge David Kreider some procedural questions. Coronel ran a graphic design studio downtown and was a producer at Gainesville Fashion Week at the height of his popularity.

Scott’s family was not present at Tuesday’s plea hearing, which took place exactly a week before candidate-busy election day. Alachua County, one of Florida’s most reliable Democratic strongholds, hasn’t had a Republican-elected sheriff in two decades. Chad Scott launched his campaign for sheriff months before his son’s overdose.

Deputies identified Coronel as a drug dealer in the case based on WhatsApp messages obtained from the dead man’s phone; Scott, then a senior official in the sheriff’s office, gave deputies permission to conduct the search. Scott is listed as a possible witness for the prosecution if the case goes to trial.

When deputies arrested Coronel less than five hours later, Coronel He suffered a bleeding wound from his head This was never mentioned in the official arrest report filed in the case. The sheriff’s office later said Coronel suffered a head injury when he tried to close the door on officers who pushed the door open, and the officers slammed the door on the man’s forehead.

Coronel disputed this in an interview from jail, saying that sheriff’s officials slammed the door of his home when they came to arrest him, hitting Coronel as the door opened, causing him to fall and hit his head.

The sheriff’s office said none of the sheriff’s employees involved in the arrest were wearing body cameras because two were undercover detectives and the third worked in the narcotics unit.

The judge did not mention or discuss Coronel’s head injury during Tuesday’s sentencing.

Chad Scott has He took his son’s death away from his campaign Even though he included the war on drugs as one of his platforms.