Bradenton man gets prison after deputies uncover Manatee drug ring, records show
A Bradenton man is headed to prison and others face charges after a 2024 sheriff’s office investigation uncovered what prosecutors describe as a coordinated drug network operating across Manatee County and beyond.
A judge sentenced Michael Ray Sharlow, 45, to three-and-a-half years in state prison after he pleaded guilty last month to conspiracy to sell fentanyl and unlawful use of a two-way communication device, according to court records.
Sharlow is one of 10 defendants charged in the case. Investigators accuse the group of taking part in a scheme to distribute fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine throughout Manatee County, with supply lines stretching across the state. Arrest reports describe Sharlow as a middleman in a fentanyl transaction, while prosecutors allege other defendants coordinated larger wholesale purchases, including a roughly $20,000 fentanyl buy in Orlando and a five-pound meth shipment from Jacksonville.
Attorneys representing the defendants did not immediately respond to the Bradenton Herald’s requests for comment.
Detectives with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office launched the investigation in 2024 after identifying suspected fentanyl trafficking in and around Bradenton with the help of a confidential informant, according to arrest reports.
Deputies use wiretaps to investigate drug ring, records say
Investigators obtained court-authorized wiretaps and intercepted thousands of calls and text messages over several months, documenting negotiations, bulk purchases and resupply trips between April and June 2024.
During the investigation, detectives identified brothers Dennis Wayne Smalls Jr., 48, and Damien Tremaine Ross, 46, as central figures in the alleged trafficking network, according to arrest reports. Ross was serving a 30-year sentence at Hardee Correctional Institution during portions of the investigation, and detectives allege he used a contraband cellphone to direct drug transactions from prison.
Investigators say the organization relied on an Orlando-based supplier, 33-year-old David Guillermo Bruno Serrano, identified as “Castro,” to obtain bulk quantities of narcotics. Arrest reports describe repeated resupply trips outside Manatee County, often to Orlando, that brought drugs back to Bradenton for redistribution.
One of the largest deals uncovered during the investigation was a $20,500 fentanyl purchase in Orlando, according to arrest reports. Detectives wrote that Smalls bought 18 ounces from Serrano after intercepted calls allegedly captured Smalls and Ross counting available cash and agreeing they had roughly $20,000 for a re-supply.
Detectives said they used a tracking device and physical surveillance to watch Smalls meet Serrano before returning to Manatee County, according to an arrest report.
Drug network spanned Bradenton to Jacksonville, detectives say
Investigators say the supply network extended beyond Orlando to Jacksonville. Detectives allege Ross coordinated a methamphetamine purchase tied to a Jacksonville source while he was in prison. According to arrest reports, Ross negotiated the bulk order with another imprisoned man, who arranged for a courier to transport the drugs from Jacksonville to Manatee County.
The quoted price was $1,350 per pound, according to arrest reports, and detectives say Ross began contacting other members of the group to market the new supply shortly after delivery.
Investigators say intercepted communications described purchases of kilogram-level quantities of cocaine, pound-level amounts of meth and multiple ounces of fentanyl. In one exchange summarized in an arrest report, several members of the group allegedly discussed meth prices ranging from roughly $1,200 to $1,700 per pound.
Sellers used ‘purple yurple’ and other code names, deputies say
Detectives also say the group used coded language to discuss drugs. Fentanyl was referred to as “purp” or “purple yurple.” Meth was called “cream,” and cutting agents were described as “cut.”
In one intercepted call, investigators say Ibenass Johnson Sr., 33, asked Shelton Renard Smith, 44, about obtaining “purple yurple” and complained about a prior mixture, saying a customer had “cussed him out” and he needed a different cutting agent. Arrest reports also describe them discussing the strength and quality of shipments and arranging resupply trips to replace what they considered substandard product on the call.
Throughout the investigation, detectives paired wiretaps with surveillance. On one occasion, cameras mounted on utility poles captured Smith meeting Johnson outside a business in South Manatee County shortly after negotiating a deal by phone, according to an arrest report. Investigators wrote that Smith could be seen holding a stack of cash as the two appeared to exchange items through a vehicle window.
Investigators described Smith as a key contact who negotiated fentanyl and meth transactions with other members of the group, including Johnson and Sharlow.
Drugs seized from cars and a Bradenton home, records show
On June 24, 2024, Florida Highway Patrol stopped Smalls and Kristin Marie Knight, 41, as they returned from Orlando, where investigators allege they had obtained cocaine for redistribution. Authorities seized roughly half a kilogram of cocaine but did not immediately arrest them, allowing the wiretap investigation to continue, according to an arrest report.
Later that month, detectives executed a search warrant at their Bradenton home, recovering more than 200 grams of methamphetamine and nearly 30 grams of rock cocaine, along with digital scales, ammunition and three firearms, according to arrest reports.
In a separate April 2024 traffic stop, detectives seized more than 28 grams of cocaine from Arianna Carlata Sanders, 36, along with a substance she identified as “Molly” that was later confirmed as a substituted cathinone, according to court records.
Other defendants include 39-year-old Paul Thomas III, also known as “PT,” who allegedly negotiated methamphetamine purchases in early 2024, and 54-year-old Kimberly Anne Miller, who, according to arrest reports, communicated with members of the network and raised complaints about drug quality and pricing during disputes Ross allegedly helped mediate from prison.
10 suspects face charges in drug ring investigation
The investigation ultimately led to felony charges against Sharlow and nine other people:
- Prosecutors allege Smalls Jr. and Ross led the operation and have charged them with multiple counts of conspiracy to traffic fentanyl, cocaine and meth.
- Smith and Knight face trafficking charges tied to cocaine and meth.
- Serrano is charged with conspiracy to traffic fentanyl and cocaine as the group’s alleged supplier.
- Court records show Johnson, Thomas and Miller face conspiracy and communication device charges tied to the alleged drug trafficking network.
- Sanders faces charges including trafficking in cocaine, conspiracy to traffic cocaine and possession of cathinones, a type of synthetic stimulant often referred to as bath salts.
Although investigators focused on wiretaps and surveillance from April through June 2024, most arrests did not occur until nearly a year later. Court records show warrants were first served in April 2025, beginning with Smith, followed by Smalls Jr., Knight and Sharlow later that month. Knight and Sanders were released on bond. Serrano was in custody in Orange County when Manatee County authorities served a warrant in December 2025. He was later transferred to Manatee County, where a judge denied bond and ordered that he remain jailed ahead of trial, according to court records.
