Carfentanil Sentencing

Cheyanne Danielle Tanner, 29, of Port Charlotte was sentenced in a Charlotte County court to five years in state prison for multiple counts of possessing and selling drugs, including carfentanil, to undercover Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office deputies in June, 2017. She was also sentenced for one count of Keeping or Maintaining a Public Nuisance, third degree felony.

The criminal investigation, which included two illegal sales, led to the execution of a search warrant at her home, at which time deputies seized various controlled substances and drug paraphernalia which included a digital scale generally used for weighing drugs for distribution and a grinder, generally used to pulverize drugs into smaller particles in preparation for distribution. 

Ms. Tanner was sentenced to prison, and is now a convicted felon, despite having no prior felony convictions. The Florida Legislature, Governor Rick Scott, and the State Attorney’s Office recognize the clear and present danger that fentanyl and its analogues, including carfentanil, pose to citizens and to first responders such as law enforcement officers and Fire/EMS; each tasked with investigating illicit use or saving the lives of those overdosing from their use. The United States Department of Justice and the DEA have deemed fentanyl and carfentanil one of the central and deadly causes of the current opiod crisis plaguing the United States. It has been determined that fentanyl can be 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin. Inhalation of fentanyl, even trace amounts, may cause toxic symptoms in a person. 

The State Attorney’s Office will continue to work closely with our partners at the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office to aggressively pursue and prosecute those who unlawfully sell, deliver, possess, or manufacture these illicit and dangerous substances. 

Assistant State Attorney Scott Patterson prosecuted the charges against Ms. Tanner.


Samantha Syoen
Communications Director
State Attorney’s Office
239-533-1125
ssyoen@sao20.org