Marion County jury convicts Rafael Then Jr. following joint investigation by local and federal agencies.
MARION COUNTY, Fla. – A jury has found 33-year-old Rafael Then Jr. of Belleview guilty of trafficking in methamphetamine. The verdict, delivered on Tuesday, concludes a collaborative undercover investigation by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Ocala Police Department’s Unified Drug Enforcement Strike Team (UDEST), and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
He was taken into custody immediately following the verdict by Judge Barbara Kissner-Kwatkosky, where he will await his sentencing hearing. The conviction stems from his arrest on July 31, 2023, after he sold a significant amount of methamphetamine to an undercover officer.
The investigation led law enforcement to arrange a controlled purchase at a business in the Marion Oaks community. According to court documents, Then arrived in a purple Dodge Charger and entered the undercover officer’s vehicle to complete the transaction…