Key West Family Pleads Guilty To Drug Trafficking

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Alysa D. Erichs, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, announce that defendants Juan Francisco Soca, Sr., 64, of Stock Island, pled guilty yesterday to one count of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1), and his son, Juan Francisco Soca, Jr., 43, of Key West, pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 846. Sentencing is scheduled for December 15, 2014, at 2:00 p.m., before U.S. District Judge Jose Martinez. At sentencing, Juan Francisco Soca, Sr., faces up to 40 years in prison and Juan Francisco Soca, Jr., faces up to life in prison. Jose Antonio Soca, 38, of Stock Island, a cousin of Juan Francisco Soca, Jr., who had previously pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine, was sentenced yesterday by Judge Martinez to 55 months in prison.

According to court documents, Juan Francisco Soca, Jr. and Jose Antonio Soca each sold cocaine to a confidential source on separate occasions, and based on those transactions, law enforcement officers obtained and executed a search warrant for the mobile homes where Juan Francisco Soca, Sr. and Jose Antonio Soca lived on Stock Island. Law enforcements officers found $235,398 in cash hidden inside pipes, 7.5 grams of cocaine base, and 3,084 grams of cocaine buried in the yard of Juan Francisco Soca, Sr. On the adjoining property of Jose Antonio Soca, officers found approximately 5,880 grams of cocaine, 570 30-mg oxycodone tablets, 1,332 alprazolam tablets, and $4,370 in cash.

During the arrest of Soca, Jr. on January 29, 2014, outside of his apartment located in Key West, officers found him in possession of 360 30-mg oxycodone tablets and $12,493 in cash. Of this money, $1,305 matched the prerecorded currency that the confidential source had given to Soca, Jr. during the transaction on January 28, and $200 matched the currency given by the confidential source to Jose Antonio Soca during the transaction on January 23. During a consensual search of the storage unit at Soca, Jr.’s apartment, officers found 164 oxycodone pills. Officers also executed a search warrant at a shed located at the Stock Island Lobster Company where Soca, Jr. had engaged in a cocaine transaction with the confidential source. During the search, the officers found 19 grams of cocaine, 958 grams of marijuana, and 132 30-mg oxycodone tablets.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of ICE-HSI, the Key West Police Department and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Thakur and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Wilson.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.