Three Floridians Traffic Drugs: Over $1 Million Bond Each, May Face 50 Years in Prison

Mugshots of Juiber Ochoa (left), Charles Cocuzza (middle), Nicolette Giordano (right). Photo by Martin County Sheriff’s Office, Facebook

On November 25, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office (MSO) posted a press release to its official Facebook account regarding an incident that took place during a traffic stop on Monterey Road near the MSO building.

According to the MSO, on the night of November 23, Juiber Ochoa of Hollywood, 28 years old, chose not to pull over as asked and, instead, “fled in a misguided attempt to return to the interstate”. 

Multiple patrol cars were involved as a chase ensued through Palm City. Police were able to employ strategically placed tire deflation devices on the road, and Ochoa drove over them.

However, as the MSO put it, “Even with deflated tires and a wobbling vehicle, Ochoa sped off once again”. This caused deputies to enact “a pursuit intervention maneuver, which effectively guided the wobbler off the road and into an open field”.

Once forced into the field, Ochoa and passenger Charles Cocuzza of Hollywood, 29 years old, took off on foot. They abandoned both the vehicle and another passenger, Nicollette Giordano of Wellington, 23 years old. 
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Before long, all three suspects were apprehended. Ochoa was caught before Cocuzza, but K-9 Loki tracked Cocuzza down and found him taking cover in a ditch. 

Photo of K-9 Loki (left) and the arrest of Charles Cocuzza (right). Photo by Martin County Sheriff’s Office | Martin County Sheriff’s Office, Facebook

“But why all the running, you ask?”, questioned the MSO. Upon an inspection of the vehicle, it was found that they were “trafficking amounts of fentanyl, meth, MDMA, and cocaine…in addition to a stack of stolen credit cards”. 

Photo of what the MSO seized from the vehicle (top) and of the vehicle itself (bottom). Photo by Martin County Sheriff’s Office, Facebook

Therefore, Ochoa, Cocuzza, and Giordano “were all arrested and charged with multiple counts of drug trafficking. Their bonds are set at $1,635,000, $1,830,000, and $1,435,250, respectively”. Furthermore, “the trafficking charges carry minimum mandatory prison sentences that could amount to 50 years each”. 

So, in the words of the MSO, “hold the turkey! We know at least three people who won’t be spending Thanksgiving”, or Christmas for that matter, “at home for the next 20-30 years”.
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Article by Ema Tibbetts