Woman sentenced to 20 years for drug trafficking

FORT MYERS — A woman was sentenced to 20 years in prison Tuesday, following a conviction on drug trafficking charges.

Alexa Gabriella Demariano, 50, of North Port, was convicted in June on charges of trafficking fentanyl over 14 grams and trafficking methamphetamine over 200 grams after a Lee County trial.

Demariano was arrested by Lee County deputies in 2021, according to a news release from the State Attorney’s Office, after drugs were found in her vehicle during a traffic stop on Interstate 75.

“The defendant admitted knowledge of the drugs and said she was delivering illegal narcotics from Fort Lauderdale to North Port,” the release stated.

Court records note she chose to represent herself in court leading up to her June trial.

Lee County Sheriff’s deputies stopped her Jeep Cherokee traveling on I-75 in August 2021, after noticing the car “repeatedly tapping the brakes.”

“It then veered into the outside lane approximately seven times in a one-mile duration,” the news release from the State Attorney’s Office read.

The traffic stop occurred at Daniels Parkway. Deputies reported the smell of marijuana near the car.

According to the report, Demariano admitted to marijuana being present in the Cherokee and deputies told her to get out.

A K9 sniff was conducted around the vehicle and led deputies to conclude there were other illegal substances in the car.

A search found a black bag containing syringes and plastic baggies of methamphetamine and fentanyl, as well as a scale and notebooks with purported drug deal information.

It was at this point that authorities said that Demariano admitted to ferrying drugs between Fort Lauderdale and North Port, before pointing out a cellphone she used to contact “other drug dealers and users.” She was then taken into custody.

Despite the narrative of the release, Demariano later pleaded not guilty and represented herself at a trial contesting her arrest.

The news release does not mention the discovery of marijuana in the vehicle, despite the earlier smell reported by deputies and Demariano’s admission.

Demariano was also initially charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of possession of marijuana over 20 grams.

According to Lee County Court records, the marijuana charge and one controlled substance charge were discontinued without being dismissed in October 2023.

In addition to her prison sentence, Demariano will also be required to undergo five years of post-release probation.