Felon Sentenced on Two Federal Drug Counts Incurred While Awaiting Self-Surrender on Peoria County Drug Possession Conviction

PEORIA, Ill. – Romel Michael Turner, 31, formerly of the 2500 block of West Wardcliffe Drive, Peoria, Illinois, was sentenced in federal court on March 25, 2025, to 151 months’ imprisonment for two counts of distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine (actual).

At the sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge Michael M. Mihm, evidence showed that Turner was sentenced in Peoria County Circuit Court on October 25, 2023, to 6 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections (“IDOC”) for unlawful possession of methamphetamine. He was to self-surrender on January 5, 2024. Turner was found to have distributed methamphetamine at least three times in December 2023. He pled guilty in August 2024 and has remained in the custody of the IDOC since his self-surrender for the county charges in January 2024. His projected parole on the county case is December 2026.

At the hearing, the judge also ordered that the 151-month term should be served consecutive to his current IDOC sentence.

The statutory penalties for distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine (actual) are: not less than 10 years and up to life imprisonment; a minimum of 5 years’ supervised release; and a fine of up to $10 million.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, Springfield Resident Office, Peoria Multi-Agency Enforcement Group (P-MEG), and Peoria Police Department, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa P. Ortiz represented the government in the prosecution.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).