Trio of Charlotte County drug dealers sentenced to prison

CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. —

Three people were recently sentenced to prison following arrests by the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office Narcotics Unit.

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According to the CCSO, Crystal Gilbert, 44, was sentenced to seven years in prison, followed by five years of probation on Dec. 10, 2025.

The CCSO said Gilbert was arrested following an undercover investigation in which the Narcotics Unit purchased a trafficking amount of powdered cocaine from Gilbert while her young child was standing next to her.

On Dec. 23, 2025, Steven Whalen, 50, was sentenced to 12 years in prison following three different undercover operations in which deputies purchased trafficking amounts of methamphetamine from Whalen each time, the CCSO said.

Whalen was also in possession of methamphetamine at the time of his arrest, the CCSO said.

Also on Dec. 23, 2025, Cynthia Turner, 36, was sentenced to eight years in prison followed by seven years of probation.

According to the CCSO, Turner was the subject of four different undercover investigations in which the Narcotics Unit purchased methamphetamine from her, with three of those times being a trafficking amount of the drug.

“When we share our narcotics arrests with the community, there are often some people who express doubt that the suspects will be held accountable," Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell said. "As you can see from these three individuals, they are. My Narcotics Unit does an excellent job putting cases together, backed with solid evidence, to ensure the people doing this in our community are locked away. This isn’t about addiction, it’s about a conscious choice to sell deadly poison, putting our residents and visitors in danger.”

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