Suncoast drug trafficker gets 15 years

Amira Fox – State Attorney

Drug trafficker Jonathan Soto has been sentenced as a Habitual Felony Offender to 15 years in prison for Trafficking in Fentanyl 4 to 14 grams or more, followed by 5 years of drug offender probation with 10 years of regular probation to follow. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, to run concurrently, for Possession of a Concealed Weapon by a Convicted Felon with 15 years of probation to follow.

Assistant State Attorney Scott Patterson prosecuted the case.

On July 12, 2023, the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop after the defendant rolled through a stop sign and then was speeding as he passed. As the deputy asked for his identification and registration, the defendant picked up a backpack and began going through it, when the deputy saw brass knuckles. The deputy asked if he was a convicted felon and the defendant confirmed he was. It is illegal for a convicted felon to carry a concealed weapon.

After consenting to being searched, a deputy located a thick plastic pouch concealed on the defendant’s body. The pouch contained smaller baggies of drugs. One had a trafficking amount of fentanyl inside, the other two contained methamphetamine and dimethylpentylone. He was then taken into custody.