GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Detectives in Manatee County south of Tampa say they are still searching for one suspect after what they describe as the largest fentanyl bust in the county’s history.
Deputies seized over $1.7 million worth of narcotics, including enough fentanyl to kill the entire Tampa Bay area.
Deputies have arrested one man and said the other is on the run.
Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells said the investigation started in November 2024, following a fentanyl sale to an undercover detective at a suspected drug house.
Wells said Maurice Baxter Jr., 22, was the accused drug dealer at the location. Baxter was already under investigation by other detectives as a suspected dealer of fentanyl, the sheriff said.
On March 13, detectives executed a search warrant at the suspected drug house in downtown Bradenton and uncovered over $1 million of contraband.
According to Wells, during the search warrant detectives seized the following:
- 12.3 kilograms, or more than 27 pounds, of what a deputy described in court records as fentanyl mixed with xylazine
- One kilogram of cocaine
- One kilogram of ecstasy
- 273 grams of methamphetamine
- 822 grams of marijuana
- 29.4 grams of Adderall
- Five firearms
- Over 1,000 rounds of ammunition
- One vehicle
The combination of fentanyl and xylazine, a veterinary tranquilizer, creates a street drug known as “tranq”. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, when combined with fentanyl, xylazine can increase the potential for fatal overdoses. The DEA said people injecting drug mixtures containing xylazine can develop severe wounds, such as necrosis, the death and rotting of human tissue.
One man was home during the search, 40-year-old, Tron Jalee Williams. The sheriff described Williams as a known drug dealer, but there are no criminal drug convictions in Manatee County against Williams during the past 15 years, according to court records. Williams hasn’t served time behind bars in Florida prisons, according to state corrections records. Prosecutors dropped cocaine and other drug charges against Williams two decades ago.
Williams, who declined to speak with deputies after they searched his home, has pleaded not guilty in the case, according to court records.
A judge on Friday ordered Williams held in jail indefinitely until his trial, describing him as too dangerous to the community to be eligible for bond. Meanwhile, prosecutors asked the judge to order Williams to help them unlock two cell phones found by deputies.
Williams was facing charges of trafficking fentanyl and other drugs, including meth, cocaine and MDMA, according to court records.
Wells said consumers of fentanyl typically purchase 2/10ths of a gram, meaning Williams had a cache of over 61,500 doses of fentanyl.
“They are also responsible for upping other dealers in our community,” Wells said. “They were a main player in Manatee County.”
Detectives are trying to find people who bought drugs from Williams and Baxter Jr. According to Wells, detectives have not identified any deaths connecting back to the fentanyl.
Wells said if deaths were found, they could be charged with murder.
Baxter Jr. has a warrant out for his arrest, but there is currently no reward for finding him.
“We’re pretty sure we’ll find him,” said Wells. “Baxter is hiding, but he’s not going to be able to hide for very long.”
Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Baxter Jr. is urged to contact the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office at (941) 747-3011.
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