A drug bust found cocaine and fentanyl. Ellenton man gets prison time
An Ellenton man is set to spend over five years in federal prison for trafficking fentanyl and cocaine in Manatee County, prosecutors said.
A federal judge sentenced 20-year-old Alexis Soto Escalante to five years and 10 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release, according to court records.
The sentence comes after Soto Escalante pleaded guilty to several drug charges in March. Those charges were conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl and 500 grams of cocaine, court records show.
Soto Escalante faced up to 40 years in federal prison, with a mandatory minimum of 5 years, the Bradenton Herald previously reported.
Drug sting leads to Ellenton man’s arrest
Federal agents arrested Soto Escalante in May 2024 as part of a drug bust.
Soto Escalante’s co-defendant, Traveous Anderson, had arranged a drug deal. But the source was working undercover with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, according to an arrest report.
After arresting Anderson, who went by the street name “Chop,” investigators say they learned he’d been buying fentanyl from Soto Escalante, who went by the nickname “Lil One.” Prosecutors said the exchanges had been going on for months, including nearly 56 grams of fentanyl that Soto Escalante supplied Anderson that morning.
After arresting Anderson, federal agents said they instructed him to call Soto Escalante and arrange a meeting to repay the day’s earlier drug deal and ask for more fentanyl. When Soto Escalante arrived at Anderson’s apartment in Palmetto, agents arrested Soto Escalante and searched his vehicle, finding 641 grams of cocaine and 3.7 grams of fentanyl, according to an arrest report.
Investigators searched Anderson’s apartment and found more drugs, including 28.5 grams of suspected cocaine, 5.6 grams of suspected fentanyl, 73.7 grams of suspected molly and 3.1 grams of crack cocaine, according to the report.
Later that day, agents executed a search warrant at Soto Escalante’s home in Ellenton. Inside a bedroom they identified as his, investigators say they found 15 grams of cocaine in a shirt pocket, a Ruger handgun with a loaded magazine, boxes of ammunition, a digital scale and an undisclosed amount of cash.
Attorneys representing Soto Escalante and Anderson did not immediately respond to the Bradenton Herald’s request for comment.
Ellenton man takes plea deal in drug case
Court records show Soto Escalante and prosecutors reached a plea agreement in March. As part of the deal, he admitted to the original charges, and prosecutors dropped a harsher indictment before his sentencing by U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle.
Court records show Anderson remains in federal custody at the Pinellas County Jail and is scheduled for trial in September. He rejected a plea deal in March and now faces charges under a new indictment, according to court documents. It was filed the same day Soto Escalante signed his plea. Prosecutors also filed a notice of Anderson’s prior federal conviction for drug trafficking, which could increase his potential sentence if convicted.
According to court records, Anderson previously served over six years in prison after pleading guilty in 2017 to cocaine distribution. He was still on federal supervised release when investigators arrested him again last year.
This story was originally published July 22, 2025 at 5:50 AM.
