ALTON RESIDENTS SENTENCED ON DRUG OFFENSES

A. Courtney Cox, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on October 19, 2009, TERRELL PORTER, age 30, and TELLY LEWIS, age 33, both of Alton, Illinois, were sentenced in United States District Court, Benton, Illinois, following their guilty pleas to Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Marihuana and Cocaine. The conspiracy took place in Effingham and Madison Counties, in the Southern District of Illinois. PORTER was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment, 8 years’ supervised release, a $400 fine, and a $100 special assessment. LEWIS was sentenced to 151 months’ imprisonment, 4 years’ supervised release, a $500 fine, and a $100 special assessment. There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents, PORTER, LEWIS, and their co-conspirator, agreed to travel to Ohio and obtain cocaine and marihuana through a contact in that state, return with it to Alton, Illinois, and distribute it for profit. The three were stopped by an Effingham County Sheriff’s Deputy in Effingham County, Illinois, for a traffic offense on their return trip to Alton. During the traffic stop, the deputy became suspicious that the men were engaged in drug trafficking. The vehicle was subsequently searched pursuant to consent. The deputy and other law enforcement officers who arrived to assist thereafter seized 465 grams of cocaine and 427 grams of marihuana from a duffle bag located in the trunk of the car.

Information for the indictment was obtained in an investigation conducted by the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kit Morrissey.