This week in Manatee County crime: 4 stories to know

A Bradenton drug raid that uncovered more than $150,000 in narcotics, a federal prison sentence in a methamphetamine case and a DUI crash that seriously injured a motorcyclist were among the crime stories reported in Manatee County this week.

Here are four stories you may have missed:

• Miguel Aguilar-Hernandez, 27, faces drug trafficking charges after deputies seized more than $150,000 worth of narcotics and three firearms during an Oct. 23 raid on his Bradenton home, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said. Investigators said they found cocaine, marijuana, MDMA and other drugs inside the home. The Florida Department of Children and Families removed an infant from the home following an investigation, deputies said.
• A Bradenton man was sentenced to 10 years and one month in federal prison after a jury found him guilty of supplying nearly a pound of methamphetamine that was later sold to an undercover DEA agent in Port Charlotte in July 2023. Prosecutors said Alejandro Marquetti-Blanco, 34, passed the drugs hidden in a bag of Cheetos to a co-conspirator behind a Bradenton business.
• Gerardo Ballesteros Rebolledo, 42, faces three felony charges after deputies said he drove drunk and fled the scene of an August crash on 14th Street West that left a motorcyclist with multiple fractures to his leg and ankle. The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said breath tests showed Ballesteros Rebolledo had an alcohol level more than twice the legal limit, and he had never been issued a valid driver’s license.
• Deputies arrested nine drivers on impaired-driving charges during a DUI saturation patrol conducted Friday by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Unit. The operation also produced eight misdemeanor arrests, 45 civil traffic citations and 22 warnings, with the next saturation patrol scheduled for Nov. 20, according to the sheriff’s office.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.