- April 16, 2024
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Nysean Giddens, a former basketball star at Flagler Palm Coast High School, was arrested on Aug. 13, 2021, and is charged with manslaughter in a fentanyl overdose case that killed Shaun Callahan.
Callahan was found unconscious on Sept. 13, 2020, by his girlfriend, who called 9-1-1. Callahan’s girlfriend told detectives that he sometimes used cocaine and was trying to stop. Fentanyl was found in his room, and the medical examiner reported that the fentanyl killed him.
Detectives discovered that Callahan had been communicating with someone called "Duke," who was later identified as Giddens. Giddens admitted to selling Callahan narcotics on Sept. 12, 2020, and that he placed cocaine in his mailbox the evening before his death.
Giddens was initially arrested on Sept. 13, 2020, on drug charges, while the murder case was being built by detectives.
“Here’s another case of drugs taking a life,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “We investigate every overdose death as a murder. The victim’s death is a tragedy and poison peddlers are not welcome in Flagler County. Hopefully this arrest can offer some closure to family and friends of the victim. Let this be a warning to drug dealers, keep your poison out of Flagler County or you’ll have a room at the Green Roof Inn.”
Giddens turning himself in and is being held being held at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility on a $25,000 bond.
Giddens' fall comes after showing great potential in high school. Often the leading scorer for FPC, he played basketball for four years and signed to play for ASA College in Miami.
At the beginning of Giddens' senior season, in November 2015, former Sports Editor Jeff Dawsey wrote a column describing the first high school game that Giddens played with his father, Eric, in attendance. His father had been in prison for the previous three years, and Nysean Giddens had been looking forward to the game; he didn't disappoint, scoring 25 points and grabbing 16 rebounds. The following is an excerpt from that story:
"In his freshman year, when his dad was sent off, Nysean said he felt lost: 'Everything happened so fast, and I didn’t know what to feel ... All my life, my dad been telling me to go down the right path and don’t mess up like he did in high school.'
"He says people often tell him that his father was one of the best basketball players to ever play at FPC, but he messed up and fell in the streets. Living in a bad neighborhood in Bunnell, Nysean regularly sees the drugs and violence that have taken so many lives and ended potential careers, but he’s doing everything in his power to avoid those potholes, and he hopes to reach college and help his family move to a better environment.
“'My senior year is here, and my dad is finally home and on the right path, and I’m ready to show him that I will not make the mistakes he’s made,' Nysean said."
Meanwhile, Callahan's loved ones continue to mourn for him, a year later. Autumn Smith, in a public Facebook page dedicated to his memory, shared a 2019 family photo and wrote: "Sweet, precious memories. We miss you so much daddy. The boys are growing up so fast. My heart hurts, but I'm still trying to stay strong...I love you Shaun Callahan. Forever and always."
