Topeka Man Sentenced To 35 Years for Drug Trafficking

TOPEKA, KAN. – A Topeka man was sentenced Thursday to 35 years in federal prison for drug trafficking, Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.

Faustino Soto, 43, Topeka, Kan., was convicted on one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, 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.

Prosecutors told the court that during an investigation that began in the fall of 2013 Soto was identified as a multi-pound supplier of methamphetamine to a trafficking organization that was operating in Franklin, Shawnee, Anderson, and Douglas counties in Kansas. When investigators served a search warrant at Soto’s residence in the 100 block of SE Rice Road in Topeka they recovered methamphetamine, firearms, and more than $17,000 in cash.

In sentencing Soto, the judge took into account evidence that Soto obstructed justice by intimidating three witnesses prior to trial.

Beall commended the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Catania for their work on the case.