A 30-year-old Boca Raton chef is facing a stack of charges after deputies say he led them on a high-speed run through West Palm Beach that topped out at 102 mph, ending with a red cooler full of unmarked medication strips found inside his black Kia. Rafael Soto Ross was arrested in the early morning hours following the pursuit on Forest Hill Boulevard, and investigators say what they found afterward only added to his legal troubles.
According to CBS12, a deputy first clocked Ross driving 84 mph in a 45-mph zone before he allegedly blew through a red light at South Congress Avenue. Afterward, he accelerated to 102 mph in a 35-mph zone. Deputies said he eventually slowed while merging onto southbound Interstate 95, which is when they initiated a traffic stop, per the criminal probable cause affidavit cited in the report.
Odor of Alcohol, No Shoes, and a Refused Breath Test
Once deputies approached the car, they reported a strong odor of alcohol and noted that Ross had bloodshot eyes and was driving without shoes. He initially refused a breath test, the outlet's report states, but later submitted to evaluations that recorded blood alcohol content levels of 0.146 and 0.146 — nearly double the 0.08 threshold that Florida law identifies for a standard DUI charge, and below the 0.15 mark that triggers enhanced penalties under Florida Statute Section 316.193.
The search of Ross's vehicle turned up roughly 7.58 grams of marijuana along with a red cooler containing 129 dissolvable strips, the station's report says. Those strips were identified as a generic Suboxone medication — a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone typically used to treat opioid dependence — but the report notes the prescription labels had been ripped off each one.
License Already Canceled Before the Chase
Records cited in the same account show Ross's driver's license had already been canceled in 2024, following prior suspensions, meaning he was allegedly behind the wheel at triple-digit speeds without a valid license to begin with. That detail compounds the list of charges he now faces, which per the report includes DUI, reckless driving, excessive speeding, driving with a suspended or revoked license, and possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.
A booking record under the name Sotoross Rafael appears on a third-party mugshot site, though the dossier notes that name form differs from the Rafael Soto Ross identification used in the CBS12 report, and the identity should be confirmed through official court or law-enforcement records. As with any arrest, these charges reflect allegations made by investigators, and Ross is presumed innocent unless and until proven otherwise in court.
No probable-cause affidavit or Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office release independent of the CBS12 report was available, and it remains unclear whether the substances recovered from the vehicle have been formally tested, whether Ross held a prescription for the medication, or how the case will proceed through the courts.
