Chicago Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possessing Crack Cocaine with the Intent to Distribute it

A man who was found with nearly 75 grams of crack cocaine and admitted that he owed someone $13,000 for “fronting” him 226.8 grams of crack cocaine, was sentenced today to ten years in federal prison.

Desmond McSwain, age 31, from Chicago, Illinois, received the prison term after a guilty plea on June 28, 2021, to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance after having previously been convicted of a serious felony drug offense.

Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that McSwain sold crack cocaine on multiple occasions in May and June of 2020.  On August 28, 2020, McSwain was a passenger in a car that also contained two children.  When law enforcement stopped the vehicle, they smelled an overwhelming odor of marijuana coming from the car.  Law enforcement found just under 75 grams of crack cocaine, marijuana, and over $1,000 in cash.  McSwain had previously been convicted of multiple felony offenses for trafficking heroin in Illinois.

McSwain was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda Reade.  McSwain was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment and must also serve an 8-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

McSwain is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorneys Devra Hake and Alex Geocaris, and it was investigated by the Dubuque Police Department and the Dubuque Drug Task Force. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 21-CR-01002.

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