Judge sets $130,000 bond for Palmetto woman charged with heroin trafficking
MANATEE -- A $130,000 bond was set for a woman charged with one count of heroin trafficking and two counts of selling heroin.
Kenyatta Cox, 24, was arrested at 3 p.m. Monday in the 200 block of 10th Street West in Palmetto, according to a release. Deputies with the Manatee County Sheriff's Office said she delivered 11 grams of heroin to an undercover detective in exchange for $1,200.
Cox also was wanted on two arrest warrants for selling $100 worth of heroin to an undercover officer on Aug. 26.
Judge K. Douglas Henderson set Cox's bonds at $130,000 with little discussion during her first appearance Tuesday. Henderson set bond for the trafficking charge at $100,000, and each charge of selling heroin was $15,000 apiece.
Also on Tuesday, bonds related to an earlier criminal case against Cox were revoked.
Cox was out on $22,500 bond at the time of her arrest Monday on three charges of selling controlled sub
stances in May. The charges were originally for selling heroin but were changed to the sale of cocaine. The State Attorney's Office was unable to provide details on why the charges were switched.
An arrest warrant for Cox filled out in July states an undercover officer bought $40 worth of suspected heroin from Cox on May 27, and that the substance did test positive for heroin.
She was arrested in July and pled not guilty to the charges.
Cox said Tuesday that she was concerned about being able to get out of jail so she could get back to her job at a 7-Eleven.
"I need to tell them what's going on," she said.
Two friends of Cox's were in court but declined to be interviewed.
The Manatee County Sheriff's Office, the Bradenton Police Department and the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office have been partnering to crack down on heroin trafficking in the area since heroin overdoses and deaths have been rising.
Bradenton police are still searching for Ryan Sherman, 26, who faces charges of trafficking in heroin and selling heroin.
Police conducted a search of his home Sept. 23 but were unable to find him. During the search, they apprehended Kennesha Belvin, 23, who police identified as his assistant in selling heroin.
She was released from the Manatee County jail on Thursday on $9,000 bond.
Paul Thomas III, 28, and Troy Hodo, 21, were arrested Friday on charges of heroin trafficking, selling heroin and possession of various drugs.
Thomas is being held in the Manatee County jail on bonds totaling $121,000, and Hodo is being held on $29,000 bond.
Tyrone Anderson, 40, was arrested Monday on charges of heroin trafficking and methamphetamine trafficking. He is being held in the Sarasota County jail without bond.
Kate Irby, Herald online/political reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7055. You can follow her on Twitter @KateIrby
This story was originally published September 29, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Judge sets $130,000 bond for Palmetto woman charged with heroin trafficking ."