Putnam County couple sentenced for transporting cocaine

File photo

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Pomona Park couple has been sentenced after pleaded guilty to transporting two kilograms of cocaine from Texas to Florida.

Juan Soliz, 24, was sentenced to five years in prison and Kayla Soto, 23, was sentenced to two years and six months in federal prison.

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The couple, who pleaded guilty Oct. 20, also agreed in the plea deal to forfeit a Chevrolet Traverse and a Mercedes Benz E350 that were used to transport the cocaine.

They will forfeit $5,335, which are traceable proceeds of the offense.

According to court documents, on June 25, 2016, the couple drove the Mercedes Benz from Palatka to Waycross, Georgia, where they received instructions from a co-defendant regarding the pickup location for a shipment of cocaine. Soliz and Soto then drove to Houston, Texas, stopped briefly to pick up two kilograms of cocaine, and then immediately started their return trip to Florida, authorities said.

Troopers from the Florida Highway Patrol, working with the Drug Enforcement Administration, stopped Soliz and Soto as they entered Putnam County on June 28, 2016. The two kilograms of cocaine were found inside a hidden compartment in the trunk of the car.