Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Cocaine Conspiracy

Stacy L. Harden, 42, of Desoto, Texas, pled guilty in federal district court, in East St. Louis, Illinois, on October 6, 2015, to one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.

Harden is scheduled for sentencing on January 22, 2016, at 9 a.m. before the Honorable David R. Herndon. Harden faces a potential sentence of a minimum of 10 years to life in prison, a fine of up to $10,000,000, not more than 5 years of supervised release after his prison term, and a mandatory special assessment of $100.

Court proceedings revealed on October 21, 2010, a confidential informant told DEA agents that Harden was in the St. Louis area with a large amount of cocaine for sale. DEA Agents tracked Harden down and on October 22, 2010, observed Harden leave an O’Fallon home with a plastic shopping bag. Harden then went to another residence in Swansea, Illinois, where he left with a black bag. Shortly thereafter, the Fairview Heights police department conducted a traffic stop on Harden at the direction of DEA agents. Harden sped off, driving into a residential area and throwing items out of the window, as witnessed by officers. Approximately 4 kilograms of cocaine were seized by officers. Harden was placed under arrest and later admitted to possessing a total of 7 kilograms of cocaine.

The investigation has been conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF initiative is designed to bring federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and resources together to identify, target and dismantle large national and international drug trafficking organizations. Participating agencies include the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), U.S. Marshal Service, the Granite City Police Department, Fairmount City Police Department, Collinsville Police Department, Pontoon Beach Police Department, Park Hills (Missouri) Police Department, the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department, and the Illinois State Police. This case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Daniel T. Kapsak.