Fentanyl dealer sentenced to 40 years for 2 Norcross teens’ overdose deaths

GWINNWTT COUNTY, GA – A Lawrenceville man will spend more than 30 years in prison for selling fentanyl-laced drugs that led to the overdose death of two Norcross teenas.

Drolvin Calix-Rodriguez, 24, pled guilty to violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, two counts of involuntary manslaughter, distribution of fentanyl, possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony for the 2023 deaths of 17-year-old Rodrigo Floriano-Mayen and 16-year-old Julia Zirangua. Calix-Rodriguez was sentenced to 40 years with 35 to serve in prison.

“It’s terrible that two young lives were lost to this deadly drug,” Gwinnett District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said. “We hope this brings greater awareness to the dangers of fentanyl to prevent more overdose deaths like these.”

Calix-Rodriguez and co-defendant Elizabeth Faye Elliott sold fentanyl pills, or “percs,” to the two teens on separate occasions in February 2023. The two high school students suffered overdoses and died. Another teen victim who survived an overdose provided information to investigators identifying the defendants.

Calix-Rodriguez led the operation, obtaining the drugs and handling communications and sales. Elliott, 23, pled guilty to the same charges as Calix-Rodriguez – with exception of the gun charge – for posting ads of the drugs, driving him to sales and handling the money for him. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison followed by 20 years of probation because she cooperated with investigators.

The defendants were indicted before “Austin’s Law” – Georgia Senate Bill 465 establishing felony aggravated involuntary manslaughter charges for fentanyl dealers – went into effect in 2024.

Drug and Gang Task Force Managing Assistant District Attorney David Ian and Assistant District Attorney Brian Trepanier prosecuted the case with the assistance of DGTF Investigator John Wilbanks.

The Gwinnett County Police Department, the Gwinnett County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigations were invaluable in closing this case, the District Attorney’s Office stated.