Drug trafficker identified during undercover investigation sentenced to 15 years — Bradenton Police Department

Francesco Abbruzzino, The Uncensored Report, LLC

 

BPD

 

Case #: 2023-007315

Rocky Jimenez, one of eight members of a drug-trafficking operation identified during an undercover narcotics operation in 2023, was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison. Jimenez, a known gang member, pleaded guilty to two counts of trafficking in Fentanyl, possession of Fentanyl, and conspiracy to sell Methamphetamine within 1000 feet of public housing.

The investigation was led by the Bradenton Police Department Narcotics Unit, working in partnership with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Central Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA)-Gulf Coast Task Force, and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

 In August 2023, task force detectives/agents learned that Pedro Garcia, a documented gang member and convicted felon, was using multiple co-conspirators, including Jimenez, to distribute drugs in the City of Bradenton and Manatee County. Investigators obtained a wiretap warrant for Garcia’s phone, and the intercepted calls and texts revealed multiple communications between Garcia and Jimenez. Detectives also observed Jimenez conducting narcotics transactions.

The Bradenton Police Department arrested Jimenez on December 22, 2023.

Also charged:

  • Pedro Garcia: Three counts of trafficking in Fentanyl, conspiracy to traffic Fentanyl, conspiracy to sell Methamphetamine within 1000 feet of public housing, four counts of possession of a firearm by a gang-related convicted felon, and possession of ammunition by a gang-related convicted felon. At the time of his arrest, Garcia was on federal probation for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and was out on bond for two murder charges in Manatee County.

  • Ernestina Gutierrez: Conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.

  • Cynthia Gutierrez-Mendez: Conspiracy to deliver cocaine within 1000 feet of a school and conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance within 1000 feet of a church.

  • Gerardo Casiano: Conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance within 1000 feet of a church.

  • Pablo Adrian Estrada: Conspiracy to traffic Fentanyl and trafficking in Methamphetamine.

  • Francisco Flores III: Conspiracy to traffic Fentanyl.

  • Laquinton Trevon Hart: Conspiracy to possess Fentanyl with intent to sell within 1000 feet of a church.

The Bradenton Police Department thanks the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Office of the State Attorney 12th Judicial Circuit, Coast Guard Investigative Service, and North Port Police Department for assisting in this investigation.