A Florida couple who disguised drugs as children’s snacks and sold them in their Tampa neighborhood while coordinating deals from prison will face decades in prison, authorities said.
Renee Stephens, 32, also known as the “Candy Lady,” was sentenced to 60 years in prison after being convicted of fentanyl trafficking, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Thursday.
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Her husband, Vincent Stephens, who is already in state prison, was sentenced to an additional 30 years in addition to the 20 years he was already serving for a previous drug and firearm conviction.
Renee Stephens earned her nickname by selling marijuana-infused snacks disguised as popular delights like candy, chips, and cereal to kids in the area, according to authorities.
The inquiry began in August 2023, after the Florida Department of Law Enforcement got a report about Stephens’ drug trafficking activity.
Over the next three months, undercover investigators made a series of controlled purchases, and one agent observed Stephens handling fentanyl while carrying her infant kid. Officials stated that the child was present during several narcotics transactions.
On December 11, 2023, authorities executed a search warrant at Stephens’ home, seizing 153 grams of fentanyl, 100 fentanyl tablets, marijuana, and 63 individually packed snacks that looked like children’s delicacies but contained drugs.
Ashley Moody, Florida’s attorney general at the time, claimed the amount of fentanyl recovered was “enough to kill nearly 80,000 people.”
Investigators eventually discovered that Vincent Stephens, who was imprisoned, was organizing the plan from inside. He spoke with his wife by phone and Facebook to arrange drug trades and connect her with other inmates, investigators claimed.
Renee Stephens was arrested in December 2023 and convicted in January 2026 on various counts, including conspiracy to traffic fentanyl, unauthorized 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 completing his present sentence.
“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.”
