Drug Bust in Pontoon Beach Leads to 7-Year Prison Term for St. Louis Man

Pontoon Beach, Ill. – A St. Louis man who tried to buy cocaine in Illinois has been sentenced to 
over 7 years  in prison. Steve  P. Kennedy, 51,  appeared  at the  federal  courthouse in East St. Louis 
 on Tuesday and was sentenced to 87 months behind bars for attempting to possess with the intent to 
distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and being a 
felon in possession of a firearm. Kennedy pled guilty to the charges in May.

The offenses all occurred on August 12, 2020, when, according to court documents, Kennedy and a 
co-defendant, Stephen Brown, drove to a restaurant in Pontoon Beach, Illinois, intending to 
purchase 2 kilograms of cocaine. The man they were meeting was a confidential source working at the 
direction of law enforcement. DEA agents arrested Kennedy and Brown at the restaurant shortly after 
they arrived.

At the time of his arrest, Kennedy was carrying a .22 caliber semi-automatic pistol with an 
attached silencer and seven loaded magazines, along with $33,000 in cash. Kennedy has a prior 
felony drug conviction from Mississippi that prohibits him from lawfully possessing a gun.

Brown had another $5,000 in his car and was also charged. His sentencing will be held in October.

As part of the sentence, Chief United States District Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel ordered Kennedy 
to forfeit his interest in the seized cash, pay a $150 fine, and serve a 3-year term of supervised 
release. The case was investigated by the DEA in Fairview Heights.