Robert Ward was sentenced to 8 years in prison with a 3-year minimum/mandatory for a drug
conviction. Ward was found guilty in March following a trial in Charlotte County of Trafficking
in Amphetamines, Possession of Paraphernalia, and two counts of Possession of a Controlled
Substance. He will also have to pay a $50,000 fine and court costs. His driver’s license will also
be suspended for 6 months.
Ward was arrested in August 2019 when a Charlotte County Sheriff’s deputy attempted to make
a traffic stop in Punta Gorda. The driver, Ward, accelerated and drove around a corner, which
has a blind spot due to heavy brush. He pulled into a driveway and was detained by the deputy.
A search of his car revealed heroin hidden in a cigarette box and a methamphetamine pipe.
Another deputy returned to the scene later and was alerted by a concerned citizen who found
drugs on his property, just a few feet from the roadway. The property is along the blind spot of
the road, where the driver drove past, momentarily out of the sight of the deputy.
There was heroin in the same type of cigarette box found in the defendant’s car, as well as 20
grams of methamphetamine and four oxycodone pills.
Assistant State Attorney Scott Patterson prosecuted the case.
Samantha Syoen
Communications Director
State Attorney’s Office
ssyoen@sao.cjis20.org