A drug dealer who once claimed he wasn’t able to get a fair trial because videos of his arrest appeared on TikTok was sentenced to 10 years in prison following a plea deal.
William Gilbert, 43, of Waukegan, was sentenced to 10 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance, a Class X felony.
Gilbert pleaded guilty to the charge Oct. 29 in front of McHenry County Judge Mark R. Gerhardt.
Authorities said a McHenry County Sheriff’s deputy was traveling on Illinois Route 120 when he observed a disabled vehicle partially in the roadway on July 25, 2023.
The driver, Gilbert, told officers he was waiting for his girlfriend’s father to arrive with a tow truck, court documents said.
Deputies suspected Gilbert of possessing and selling narcotics within McHenry County and deployed McHenry County Sheriff’s K-9 Deuce to conduct a free air sniff of the vehicle and Gilbert.
Authorities said the dog positively alerted to the presence of illegal narcotics on both the driver and passenger side of the vehicle, court documents said.
Deputies searched Gilbert and allegedly found on his person around 26.4 grams of methamphetamine, 4.5 grams of cocaine and fentanyl, and 31.7 grams of heroin.
A bag with 2.8 grams of cocaine was also found on the driver’s side floorboard, court documents said.
Deputies also allegedly found a backpack that had three separate plastic bags with around 83.9 grams of methamphetamine.
Plastic bags, clear latex gloves, a digital scale with white residue and $2,902 cash were also found inside the Dodge and on Gilbert’s person, court documents said.
During the arrest, however, deputies attempted to arrest Gilbert but he began resisting when being placed into handcuffs, a criminal complaint said.
Gilbert allegedly pulled away from deputies and fled on foot before locking himself in a vehicle.
A deputy attempted to gain entry to the vehicle through a window and injured his right hand.
Deputies were eventually able to take Gilbert into custody.
On January 23, a TikTok page named “mindshiftmagic.bd” uploaded five video segments of a deputy’s body-worn camera that showed the July 2023 arrest involving Gilbert.
Roderick Drobinski, Gilbert’s attorney, filed a motion claiming the TikTok videos present several issues for the defense, including “potential tainting of the jury pool, mishandling of evidence on a pending criminal prosecution, and potentially ethical or criminal violations of the law.”
The TikTok videos were viewed nearly 3 million times.
McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick D. Kenneally said in a news release that he recognizes the thoroughness and detailed investigative work of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department and Assistant McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office attorneys on the case.
“The McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office remains committed to protecting the community from illicit drugs,” Kenneally said.