Cocaine Trafficking Arrests

NEWS RELEASE 18-139 - AUGUST 15, 2018
Dominguez-Cuellar, Pedro    Pelayo, Julio
Dominguez-Cuellar                                                     Pelayo

The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office arrested two Sarasota men on cocaine trafficking charges following a series of undercover drug buys.

 In July, detectives launched an investigation after receiving information that Pedro Dominguez-Cuellar, DOB 04/29/56, was selling cocaine in Sarasota County. On July 18, detectives obtained evidence corroborating this information when Dominguez-Cuellar sold 14 grams of cocaine. Only two days later on July 20, Dominguez-Cuellar sent his counterpart, Julio Pelayo, DOB 04/12/54, to sell nearly 44 grams. On two other occasions in July, Dominguez-Cuellar sold nearly 53 grams of cocaine, including on July 24 when he was accompanied by Pelayo. On August 8, detectives executed a search warrant on Dominguez-Cuellar’s home where they recovered more than 181 grams of cocaine, 23 grams of marijuana, $5,000 in cash and various drug paraphernalia.

 Pedro Dominguez-Cuellar, of 4828 Post Pointe Drive, is charged with three counts of Trafficking in Cocaine and two counts of Sale of Cocaine. He has nine prior arrests in Sarasota County; nearly all of which are drug related. Pelayo, of 964 Gary Street, is charged with two counts of Trafficking in Cocaine. Following their arrests, personnel at the Sarasota County Jail notified U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of their charges and foreign-born status; both men were born in Cuba. While ICE initially placed holds on both men, they have since been lifted and both men were released.