Topeka Man Charged With Drug Trafficking

TOPEKA, KAN. - A Topeka man was charged in federal court today with drug trafficking and firearms violations, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.

Faustino Soto, 41, Topeka, is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of unlawful possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a user of controlled substances.

A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Topeka alleges that on Jan. 13 the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Topeka Police Department and the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office executed a state search warrant at Faustino’s residence at 117 SE Rice Road in Topeka. They seized firearms, cash and methamphetamine.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1 million on the methamphetamine charge, a penalty of not less than five years and a fine up to $250,000 on the charge of unlawful possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the charge of unlawful possession of a firearm by a user of controlled substances.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Topeka Police Department and the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Hendershot is prosecuting.