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William Connor Morlan of Fairfield has been sentenced to 8 years in prison for attempting to make methamphetamine. The case dates back to his arrest in February. The judge also gave Morlan day for day credit for 33 months served in prison. The jail-time credit will result in Morlan spending less than a year in prison for the drug offense.

46-year-old Anthony R. Acord of Olney has been indicted by a Federal Grand Jury in Benton on meth related charges. Acord was named in a three-count indictment charging him with conspiring to make meth, possession of meth making materials, and attempt to make meth. If convicted he faces up to 40 years behind bars.

32-year-old Brent J. "BJ" Powell of Fairfield has been sentenced to 17 1/2 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a six count indictment charging him with conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine. Powell was arrested nearly a year ago in Jefferson County. He also plead guilty to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm during the commission of a drug trafficking crime.

28-year-old Bobby Morrill of Carmi and 40-year-old Kelly Trusty of Mount Carmel have been jailed on drug charges following a high speed chase Friday night near Mount Carmel.  Wabash County Sheriff Terry McWilliams reports the two men were found to be in possession of items used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. The two were arrested shortly before midnight Friday on River Road near Mount Carmel.

39-year-old Leroy Stark, Jr. of Belleville was arrested early this morning for allegedly trying to steal three 55-gallon drums of anhydrous ammonia from the Circle R Fertilizer Plant at Springerton. Stark fled into a woods and was captured after a White County K-9 tracked him down. Stark had gotten out of prison March 29 after serving part of a 4 year sentence for stealing anhydrous ammonia in Wayne County.

39 year old Leroy Stark Jr. of Belleville was arrested early Friday morning after he attempted to steal as much as three 55-gallon drums of anhydrous ammonia from the Circle R Fertilizer plant at Springerton.  Stark was tracked down in a nearby woods, and taken into custody around 5 a.m. Friday.  Stark had been released from the State Prison at Jacksonville March 29th after serving part of a four year sentence for conspiring to steal anhydrous ammonia in Wayne County.

Combating the meth problem was the focus of several Senate bills signed into law this week, according to State Senator John O. Jones of Mount Vernon.  One new bill makes it illegal to transport anhydrous ammonia or ingredients used to make meth into Illinois for the purpose of manufacturing or distributing.  Other bills require the state police to create an on-line database showing where meth makers live, and makes it a Class 3 felony to use another person's personal identification to purchase meth-making materials.

48-year-old Richard Eastep of Fairfield was arrested Tuesday afternoon on twelve Wayne County warrants charging him with running a meth lab out of his S.E. 8th Street home. Police raided his house last Wednesday, but Eastep was not home at the time. Three others were taken into custody during the original raid. Eastep is being held under $100,000 bond pending trial.

31-year-old Jeremy L. Johnson of Wayne County was sentenced Tuesday to four years probation on meth-related charges.  Johnson and three others were arrested early last December after agents of the Southern Illinois Drug Task Force raided a house on S. E. 8th Street and seized items consistent with the manufacture of methamphetamine.

41-year-old Kevin W. Beeson of Fairfield has been jailed on charges he purchased too many pseudoephedrine tablets at local pharmacies - a violation of Illinois'  new anti-methamphetamine law. City Police arrested Beeson in the parking lot of the Fairfield CVS Pharmacy around 3:30 Saturday afternoon.  Purchase logs at Wal-Mart and CVS pharmacies indicated he purchased more cold tablets than allowed under Illinois' anti-meth law.

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40-year-old Kevin L. Garrett of Fairfield has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for his part in a conpsiracy to make and distribute methamphetamine in Wayne and White Counties.  Garrett's co-defendant, 44-year-old Stewart Poore of Springerton drew a 20 year sentence for his role in the conspiracy.  Both were among 29 drug defendants indicted in U.S. District Court at Benton over the last two years for conspiring to make and distribute meth in southern Illinois.

A 23-year-old Mt. Vernon man has been sentenced to 11 years and three months in federal prison for conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine. Justin Ford was also fined 700-dollars and ordered to serve five years of supervised release following completion of the prison term. Ford is the third person to be sentenced in connection with the conspiracy. The arrests were made through the Project Safe Neighbors program in Jefferson County.

36-year-old Matthew O. Kolb of Mount Carmel has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges he conspired with others to distribute methamphetamine in and around Wabash County between January of 2005 and December of 2006.  Kolb has been remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshal Service pending a detention hearing on Monday.



39-year-old Terry D. Eads of Mount Carmel has entered a guilty plea to charges he conspired with others to distribute meth in and around Wabash County between March of 2004 and October of 2006.  Eads was indicted on the charge in January, with sentencing set for June.  He faces up to 40 years in prison and up to four years supervised release following incarceration.

A 32-year-old Centralia woman has been sentenced to 20-years in prison for conspiracy to manufacture more than 500 grams of methamphetamine. Misty Grady had earlier pleaded guilty to the charge in federal court. She was also fined 300-dollars and ordered to complete ten years of supervised release after getting out of prison.
The U.S. Attorney's office says the violation took place from November of 2002 through April of last year in Jefferson, Marion, Clinton, St. Clair and Washington Counties as well as two central Illinois counties and five other states.

Ten co-defendants have previously been sentenced. Five others have pled guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Five more have pled not guilty and are awaiting an April 30th trial. The arrest was made as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods program, which is a cooperative effort of the U.S. Attorney's office with federal, state and local law enforcement

50-year-old Michael Alden of Orchardville has been sentenced to 27 years in prison after being found guilty of conspiring to make and distribute methamphetamine in and around Wayne County.  Alden was sentenced this morning in U.S. District Court at Benton. In addition to prison time he has been ordered to pay a $5,100 fine and pay a special drug assessment. Alden was one of 19 local defendants rounded up in a federal drug conspiracy sweep in July of 2004.

One of the items seized by police officers during the arrest of meth manufacturing suspect 52-year-old David A. Duckworth was a meth manufacturing recipe. Police say they found a copy of "The Secrets of Meth Manufacturing by Uncle Fester" during a search of Duckworth's rural Burnt Prairie home. Duckworth remains in the Wayne County jail pending the formal filing of meth manufacturing charges and setting of bond. Duckworth was out on parole from a previous drug conviction at the time of his arrest.

52-year-old Carla J. Perry of Shawneetown has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges she conspired to make and distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine in and around Gallatin County. Perry has been ordered held in jail pending a December 11 trial.