Calvin D. Turner placed under $63,500 bond on drug counts
A 46-year-old Sarasota resident has been arrested and is facing multiple drug-related charges, as well as a count of sexual battery, the Sarasota Police Department has reported.
Among the drug counts are those involving the trafficking of fentanyl, cocaine, and MDMA, plus charges related to possessing a controlled substance with intent to sell within 1,000 feet of a church, the Police Department added.
Calvin D. Turner of 2949 Veronica Allen Place is being held in the Sarasota County Jail on bond of $63,500 on the drug charges, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office notes. No bond was set in the sexual battery case, the Corrections Division records show.
“Turner is a registered sex offender,” the Sarasota Police Department noted in a news release. He already was under federal supervision for “lewd and lascivious battery with a victim between 12 and 15 years old,” the formal Police Department report said.
A Sarsota News Leader search of the records maintained by the Sarasota County Clerk of the Circuit Court found numerous charges for Turner, dating back to June 2002. They ranged from Battery-Touch or Strike to Aggravated Battery-Offender Knew or Should Have Known Victim was Pregnant to Failure to Register as Sexual Offender to Driving While License Suspended.
Additionally, the Sheriff’s Office Corrections Division records indicate that the U.S. Marshals Service requested that Turner be held on a charge of amphetamine possession. Turner’s formal arrest on that count came on Sept. 20, the record says.
The U.S. Marshals Service website explains that that organization “assumes custody for all prisoners charged with a federal offense, no matter which agency made the arest.”
Just before 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 14, the Police Department news release says, detectives were called to a home in the city of Sarasota for a report of a sexual battery that allegedly occurred about 6 p.m.
The formal report on that case explained that the victim told an officer that she was with her cousin earlier that day, searching for housekeeping jobs at hotels. After that outing, she added, the cousin suggested that they go to Turner’s house “to obtain some marijuana.”
The report indicates that Turner is the father of the cousin. The report has been redacted to keep confidential the names of the victim and the cousin.
Following their arrival at the house, the victim told the officer, Turner “came outside and hung out with her [and her cousin] for a while.” The cousin and Turner “walked off to have a brief conversation” at one point, the victim added. Following that discussion, the report continued, the victim said that Turner “summoned [her] inside his residence,” so the victim went into the house with him. Turner then told her to come into his bedroom, where “an unknown white male” was present, the victim added, according to the report.
Her belief, the victim said, was that the other man and Turner proceeded to conduct “a drug deal,” and then the second man left, the report noted.
Afterward, she told the officer, Turner locked the door and said he was going to have sexual relations with her, but she refused, the report added. Turner then pushed her onto the bed, wrapped his arms around her legs, pinned her down, and forced her into sexual intercourse, the report continued.
(The Corrections Division report says Turner weighs 215 pounds.)
The victim called 911 as soon as she returned to her residence, after she dropped off her cousin at the cousin’s apartment, the repord said.
The interview with the victim took place at a hospital, the report noted.
The next day, Sept. 15, Sarasota Police detectives conducted a search warrant at Turner’s home in connection with the sexual battery investigation, the news release points out.
“When detectives entered the home, they found prescription edibles and two plastic baggies with white powder residue in plain view,” the release says. A test of the latter substance showed that it was cocaine, the release adds.
The formal Police Department report on the drug charges noted that detectives used a TruPulse Laser to conduct that test.
That report also said that the edibles were in a “prescription Trulieve container,” referencing one of the medical marijuana providers approved to operate in the state of Florida.
Altogether, Sarasota Police detectives found the following narcotics and prescription pills inside Turner’s home, the news release points out:
- 34.9 grams of cocaine.
- 20.8 grams of MDMA (also known as Ecstasy).
- 10 grams of fentanyl.
- 51 pills of Alprazolam (also known as Xanax).
- 73 pills of Gabapentin (an anti-epileptic drug).
- 6 pills of cyclobenzaprine hydrochloride (a muscle relaxant).
- 5 pills of levothyroxine sodium (a thyroid medication).
- 252 grams of spice (also known as synthetic cannabinoids).
- 498 grams of marijuana.
Additionally, the Police Department release says, 329.1 grams of suspected marijuana was sent to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office lab for testing.
Following his Sept. 15 arrest, Turner has been confined to the Sarasota County Jail, the release notes.
Turner is facing the following charges, the release points out:
- Sexual Battery — Suspect and Victim over 18 (felony).
- Trafficking in Cocaine 28 Grams Less than 200 grams (felony).
- Trafficking in MDMA —10 Grams or More (felony).
- Trafficking in Fentanyl — 4 Grams or More (felony).
- Two counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Sell within 1,000 feet of a Church (felony).
- Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Sell within 1,000 feet of a Church (felony). The church was identified in the report as Truvine Missionary Baptist Church, which stands at 1947 31st St. in Sarasota.
- Three counts of Possession of a Drug without a Prescription (misdemeanor).
- Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (misdemeanor).