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Press Release

Gallatin County Man Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison For Manufacturing Marijuana

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Illinois

Paul E. Reynolds, 36, of Ridgeway, Illinois, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Benton to a term of 120 months in prison for growing over 100 marijuana plants and conspiring with others to do so, announced Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois. Reynolds previously pled guilty to a two-count indictment returned by a Federal Grand Jury charging him with conspiring with two other individuals to manufacture over 100 marijuana plants (count 1) and manufacturing over 100 plants (count 2).

The offenses occurred in Gallatin County between April 2012, and August 29, 2012. On August 29th, law enforcement agents conducted ground surveillance on three marijuana plots which they had identified from the air and took Reynolds and co-defendant Daniel J. Fulkerson, also of Ridgeway, into custody as they entered the plots to water and tend the plants. A total of 132 plants were seized.

In addition to the 10 year term of imprisonment, Reynolds was ordered to pay the United States fines and special assessments totaling $400 and was placed on a 4 year term of supervised release to follow his incarceration. Reynolds was returned to the custody of the United States Marshal to await designation by the Federal Bureau of Prisons to one of its facilities.

Fulkerson also pled guilty to the same charges and was sentenced on April 11th to a term of 5 years’ imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the Carmi office of the Southern Illinois Drug Task Force.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James M. Cutchin.

Updated February 19, 2015