Bradenton Man Gets Nearly 8 Years In Prison On Drug Charges

TAMPA, FL — A 36-year-old Bradenton man has been sentenced to nearly eight years in prison after pleading guilty to drug charges.

Quleton Monix was also sentenced by U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Coving to forfeit his firearm and ammunition for possessing with the intent to distribute cocaine and for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Monix pleaded guilty on Oct. 24. The sentence was announced Monday by U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez in Tampa.

Federal prosecutors said Monix sold crack cocaine to an undercover officer five times between Aug. 20 and Sept. 12, 2018. He was arrested on Sept. 26, 2018.

"After his arrest, authorities searched Monix and his vehicle and recovered $1,917 from Monix’s pocket, $3,071 from his wallet, 3.9 grams of crack cocaine from the center console of the vehicle, and $18,020, wrapped in stacks of $1,000, from a bag underneath the passenger seat," prosecutors said.

A search Monix' home turned up 38 grams of cocaine, a digital scale, razor blade, two silver pots and a fork with cocaine residue, a loaded semi-automatic pistol and a box of ammunition.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David C. Waterman.

This case was brought under the Justice Department's Project Safe Neighborhoods in which federal, state and local agencies work together to target violent offenders to bring about lasting reductions in crime.