ARIEL ALFONSO DIAZ skipped out on his drug-trafficking trial in April. Likewise, he was nowhere to be found June 2 as a judge in Seminole County sentenced him to 30 years in prison with a 25-year minimum mandatory for trafficking fentanyl.

Assistant State Attorneys Rich Coln and Donavan Wagner tried Diaz in absentia before a jury found him guilty April 23 of trafficking more than 28 grams of fentanyl and of one count of resisting arrest without violence.

Diaz, 35, had been out on bail while awaiting trial and cut off the GPS-monitoring device he was required to wear on his ankle. Diaz remains at large.

Besides prison, Circuit Judge Michael Rudisill sentenced Diaz to a $500,000 fine and a six-month driver license suspension.

The City County Investigative Bureau (CCIB) arrested Diaz in a Walmart parking lot in Casselberry in January 2022 after an undercover agent and a confidential informant arranged to buy drugs from him in a “controlled purchase.”  Infrared video from an overhead sheriff’s helicopter captured the exchange and a short foot chase through the parking lot after Diaz

At trial, prosecutors and witnesses said the powder obtained from Diaz later tested positive for para-fluorofentanyl, a synthetic “analog” of fentanyl often mixed with fentanyl to extend the volume of potent opioid powder delivered to users.

Diaz has an extensive criminal history including drug and firearm charges, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office said. At the time of his arrest, he was out on bail for a firearm charge in Orange County.