Michael Carl Saunders, 49, of Sarasota, was adjudicated guilty and sentenced today, in Charlotte County, as a Habitual felony Offender (HFO), on various drug charges.
Saunders was found guilty following a trial in April.
Saunders was sentenced to the following:
Count 1: Sale or Delivery of a Controlled Substance – 15 years in prison, followed by 10 years of Drug Offender Probation as an HFO
Count 2: Sale or Delivery of a Controlled Substance – 15 years in prison, followed by 10 years of Drug Offender Probation as an HFO
Count 3: Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Sell – 15 years in prison
Count 4: Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Sell – 15 years in prison
Count 5: Transportation of Drug Paraphernalia – 10 years in prison as an HFO
The sentences are to run concurrently.
The crime happened on June 6, 2019, when a confidential informant arranged a narcotics transaction with the defendant. Later that day the informant met the defendant at his residence and the defendant sold him .8 grams of heroin and 4 hydromorphone pills. He was arrested as part of an undercover narcotics operation by the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant State Attorney Scott Patterson and Assistant State Attorney Kristan Burns prosecuted the case.
Samantha Syoen – Communications Director, State Attorney’s Office