15-year prison stint for cocaine trafficking

A Live Oak man was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Monday, March 9, for charges of possessing, selling, and trafficking cocaine, according to Suwannee County court records and Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office reports. He faces a three year minimum mandatory sentence.

John Carlton Cherry Jr., 39, 206 Lincoln Ave., Live Oak, was sentenced on charges for trafficking in cocaine, three counts of possession of cocaine with intent to sell, two counts of sale of cocaine, two counts of trafficking in a controlled substance, sale of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell or deliver, and possession of more than 20 grams of cannabis.

Cherry has a record going back over 10 years for drug-related arrests in Suwannee County. The Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office Drug Task Force performed several controlled investigations in 2012 and 2013 in which Cherry was found to have sold or delivered large amounts of crack cocaine to undercover operatives. In one major bust in August 2012, Cherry was seen taking plastic bags out of a grill in his front yard at a former residence and placing them in another grill in a neighbor’s yard, according to an SCSO report. These bags held approximately 210 grams of cocaine in at least seven bags and approximately 600 grams of marijuana in three containers, the report states.

Man sentenced for attempted imprisonment of woman

A man who reportedly imprisoned and beat a woman for five days in 2011 was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for attempted false imprisonment on Thursday, March 5.

Justin Todd Soroka, 24, 215 Oakland Dr., Perry, previously of Live Oak, was arrested on Oct. 4, 2011, for false imprisonment and 10 counts of battery/domestic violence, according to the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office.

According to SCSO reports from 2011, Soroka’s victim claimed she had been beaten and held against her will by Soroka, who was 21 at the time, for five days. She was not allowed to leave the house except for work, and Soroka waited for her in the parking lot until her shift ended, keeping her cell phone and keys with him, the SCSO report states. The victim ran to a neighbor’s home to call for help and was caught by Soroka who attempted to drag her back home by her hair, but she broke free and called authorities, according to the report.

Soroka was sentenced to one year and one day in prison, consecutive to any other sentence if any, for attempted false imprisonment in a violation of probation plea agreement.


15 months in prison for felony DUI

A Wellborn man was sentenced to 15 months in prison on Thursday, March 5, for a felony charge of driving under the influence (DUI) and a third degree felony charge of driving while license suspended, according to a Suwannee County court record. DUIs can become felony charges if you receive three DUIs in 10 years, receive a fourth conviction at any time, or if you cause serious bodily injury to another person, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

Julius Joseph Reinke, 44, 3505 CR 250, Wellborn, received his fourth DUI conviction in September 2013, according to a Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office report. An SCSO deputy pulled Reinke over for driving a vehicle without a tag and discovered the smell of alcohol on him. Reinke told the deputy he had earlier consumed several shots of liquor at a local bar. The SCSO report states he could not complete a field sobriety test and he was also driving with a revoked license. Reinke was transported to the Suwannee County Jail where he refused to submit to a breath test for alcohol, the report states.