A grand jury indicted a Tavernier man on a first-degree murder charge for his alleged role in the overdose death of Key Largo resident Adam Halenza last year.
Monroe County State Attorney Dennis Ward said Monday that a Monroe County grand jury returned an indictment on March 27 charging Michael Patrick Stevens, 41, with first-degree murder in connection with the July 24, 2024 overdose death of Halenza.
The indictment states Stevens, a local landscaper, unlawfully distributed counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, which were a proximate cause of Halenza’s death. The charge is pursuant to Florida Statute 782.04(1)(a)3(b) and/or (g) — which allows for first-degree murder charges when a death results from the unlawful distribution of a controlled substance.
An investigation by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and investigators from the State Attorney’s Office states Halenza’s longtime partner, Renee Szczudlik, called 911 after discovering him unresponsive in a detached bathroom at their residence. Szczudlik admitted during interviews that she had purchased eight pills from Stevens earlier that afternoon for $80 after running into him at a Key Largo shopping plaza. She later provided detectives with the four remaining pills, which Florida Department of Law Enforcement lab tests confirmed contained fentanyl.
Video surveillance from a 7-Eleven in Tavernier corroborated Szczudlik’s account, showing her meeting Stevens shortly before the transaction took place. Location data from Szczudlik’s phone matched her statement, placing her at the Save Coin Laundromat, 7-Eleven, Stevens’ residence and finally her home.
Text messages and call logs extracted from both Szczudlik’s and Stevens’ phones further confirmed the coordination of the drug deal. Despite Stevens’ initial denials during a recorded interview, recovered deleted messages contradicted his statements and directly referenced the overdose.
In one message sent by Szczudlik on July 25, 2024, she wrote: “No worries take your time I have a lot of calls to make Adam died last night.”
The Monroe County Medical Examiner, Dr. Michael Steckbauer, determined the cause of death to be mixed drug toxicity (cocaine and fentanyl) and stated that the level of each substance independently constituted a fatal dose. The manner of death was ruled accidental, but under Florida law, Stevens’ role in the distribution of the fentanyl-containing pills legally supports the first-degree murder charge, officials said.
“People think they’re buying one thing and instead they’re being handed a death sentence,” said State Attorney Dennis Ward. “This case underscores the devastation fentanyl continues to bring to our communities. We will not hesitate to hold drug dealers criminally responsible for the lives lost.”
“The volume and quality of the evidence — surveillance footage, digital forensics and direct witness statements — tells a consistent and compelling story,” added Chief Assistant State Attorney Joseph Mansfield, who will be prosecuting the case. “This indictment is not just about one transaction. It’s about a community drawing a line against those profiting from poison.”
Halenza worked at Payfair in Islamorada for more than 13 years and enjoyed meeting people, according to an obituary posted shortly after his passing.
Stevens is being held without bond pending arraignment. A hearing is scheduled for April 23 before Circuit Court Judge James Morgan at the Plantation Key Courthouse.
