20 YEAR PRISON SENTENCE FOR CONSPIRACY TO MANUFACTURE METHAMPHETAMINE

A. Courtney Cox, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that JERRY L. VINYARD, age 57, of Galatia, Illinois, was sentenced in United States District Court in East St. Louis, Illinois. VINYARD, who had previously pled guilty to a one-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, was sentenced to 240 months’ imprisonment, 10 years’ supervised release, and was fined $250.

The investigation established that from at least 2000 through April 14, 2006, VINYARD and others were manufacturing methamphetamine in Saline and Gallatin Counties. Fifteen co-defendants have previously been sentenced to imprisonment for their role in the methamphetamine conspiracy. The District Court concluded that VINYARD was responsible for helping produce 36.5 kilograms of methamphetamine during the conspiracy.

The investigation was conducted by the Southern Illinois Drug Task Force, the Illinois State Police, the Eldorado, Illinois, Police Department, the Harrisburg, Illinois, Police Department, the Saline County, Illinois, Sheriff’s Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The case was assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Thomas E. Leggans for prosecution.