Bradenton man arrested after record fentanyl bust, Manatee sheriff says
Deputies arrested a Bradenton man months after naming him as a suspect in the largest fentanyl bust in Manatee County history.
Maurice Baxter, 22, is charged with selling drugs within 1,000 feet of a place of worship or convenience business, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office website. Deputies previously tied him to a March investigation where they seized more than $1.7 million in drugs and weapons, which Sheriff Rick Wells called “the most significant fentanyl seizure in Manatee County history.”
Arrest records show Baxter avoided capture for more than four months after the March raid. According to the sheriff’s office website, deputies arrested him on Monday.
Undercover detectives began investigating fentanyl sales at a suspected drug house on Sixth Street West in Bradenton in November, according to the sheriff’s office. Investigators said an undercover detective bought drugs at the home and identified Baxter as one of the dealers. Deputies said they later determined he was part of a larger drug operation detectives were already investigating.
Detectives said they continued buying fentanyl from the house before obtaining a search warrant and an arrest warrant for Baxter. On March 13, the sheriff’s SWAT Team executed the search warrant, finding only 40-year-old Tron Williams inside the home, the Bradenton Herald previously reported.
Inside a second-floor bedroom that appeared to belong to Williams, investigators said they discovered 12.3 kilograms of fentanyl, including liquid pharmaceutical-grade citrate, along with 1 kilogram of cocaine, 1 kilogram of MDMA, 273 grams of methamphetamine, 822 grams of marijuana and 29.4 grams of Adderall.
Suspect arrest in record drug bust, sheriff says
The sheriff’s office said the fentanyl alone had a street value of $1.4 million. Wells cited federal estimates that 12 kilos of fentanyl can kill 6 million people.
“That’s more than the population of the entire Tampa Bay area, and that’s why this is a significant case,” Wells said during a March press conference.
Investigators said at the time they believed the fentanyl came into Bradenton from California after crossing entering the country from Mexico.
Detectives also seized multiple firearms, including an FN Five-seven handgun, which the sheriff’s office said is sometimes called a “cop killer” because its ammunition can penetrate some types of soft body armor. More than 1,000 rounds of ammunition were also recovered, according to an arrest report.
Deputies arrested Williams during the raid but said Baxter was not there. He remained at large for months after the search.
According to court records, Williams is now charged with five first-degree felonies, including trafficking in fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA and heroin. Circuit Judge Teri Dees ordered him held without bond after a March detention hearing, and his case remains open with another court hearing scheduled for Sept. 30. An attorney representing Williams did not immediately respond to the Bradenton Herald’s request for comment.
Baxter remains in the Manatee County Jail without bond following his arrest Monday, according to arrest records.
