A local man is facing six and a half years in prison after a jury found him guilty of two separate felonies, according to local law enforcement. The Illinois man faced a drug charge referring to possession of methamphetamines and a second related to manufacturing of methamphetamines. Both of these offenses are felonies in the state of Illinois, which is why such a harsh sentence was handed down.
The 57-year-old man pleaded guilty before an Illinois court of law to both charges on June 4, after he was arrested by authorities back in February. His accomplice, a 28-year-old man, was also arrested when a police raid uncovered a methamphetamine lab allegedly belonging to the two men. The raid was part of an ongoing investigation by local and state police to nail down the sources of the drug in a local neighborhood.
The other man involved in the case was successful in negotiating a plea agreement with prosecutors, which dropped his sentence to eight years in prison for each offense, to be served concurrently. Both men were also ordered to pay hefty fines of thousands of dollars apiece to offset the cost of the drug assessments. Both men, who each had prior drug convictions on their records, will serve their time in Illinois.
A drug charge in Illinois is a serious allegation to make as the laws against illicit drug manufacture and possession are quite stringent here. If a citizen is charged with a drug-related crime it is vital for defense to pay close attention to the arrest procedure and ensure that the defendant’s rights were respected throughout the procedure. It may also be valuable to consider plea bargaining agreements as one of these men did in an effort to secure a reduced sentence.
Source: whig.com, “Barry man sentenced on drug charges,” July 24, 2013