MOUNT VERNON MAN SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR DISTRIBUTION OF CRACK COCAINE

A. Courtney Cox, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that ANTONIO T. FOULKS, age 23, of 2701 Jones St., Mount Vernon, Illinois, was sentenced to 77 months imprisonment in United States District Court in Benton, Illinois. FOULKS previously pleaded guilty on March 5, 2009, to a four count indictment charging him with three counts of Distribution of Crack Cocaine and one count of Possessing with Intent to Distribute 5 grams or more of Crack Cocaine, in Mount Vernon, Illinois, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1). In three counts, FOULKS was charged with having sold .4 grams of crack cocaine to a confidential informant three separate times on March 17, 18, and 19 of 2008. Following the sale on the 19th, law enforcement obtained a search warrant and found FOULKS in possession of an additional 8.2 grams of crack cocaine

The investigation in this case was a cooperative effort between the Joint Narcotics Unit of the Mt. Vernon Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, pursuant to their participation in the Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative.

Project Safe Neighborhoods is a joint and cooperative effort of the United States Attorney's Office, the Jefferson County State's Attorney's Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies directed at removing guns and drugs from our communities.

The case was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Carr.