By james art 
A drug dealer who once claimed he was denied a fair trial because videos of his arrest appeared on TikTok has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after 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 on Oct. 29 before McHenry County Circuit 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 road 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 drugs in McHenry County and deployed McHenry County Sheriff’s K-9 Deuce to conduct a free sniff of the vehicle and Gilbert.
Authorities said the dog alerted to the presence of illegal drugs on both the driver’s and passenger’s sides of the vehicle, court documents said.
Deputies searched Gilbert and allegedly found about 26.4 grams of methamphetamine, 4.5 grams of cocaine and fentanyl, and 31.7 grams of heroin.
A baggie containing 2.8 grams of cocaine was also found on the driver’s side floor, court documents said.
Deputies also allegedly found a backpack containing three separate plastic bags containing approximately 83.9 grams of methamphetamine.
Plastic bags, clear latex gloves, a digital scale with white residue and $2,902 in 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 to resist when he was handcuffed, a criminal complaint said.
Gilbert allegedly backed away from deputies and fled on foot before locking himself in a vehicle.
A deputy attempted to enter the vehicle through a window and injured his right arm.
Deputies were eventually able to take Gilbert into custody.
On January 23, a TikTok page called “mindshiftmagic.bd” uploaded five video segments from a lawmaker’s body-worn camera that show the July 2023 arrest involving Gilbert.
Roderick Drobinski, Gilbert’s attorney, filed a complaint alleging that the TikTok videos pose several issues for the defense, including “potential juror taint, mishandling of evidence for a pending criminal prosecution, and potential ethical or criminal violations of law.” .
TikTok videos have been viewed nearly 3 million times.
McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick D. Kennelly said in a news release that he acknowledges the thorough and detailed investigative work of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department and McHenry County Assistant State’s Attorneys in the case.
“The McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office remains committed to protecting the community from illegal drugs,” Kennelly said.