Edwardsville Man Nets Nine Years in Federal Prison for Meth, Heroin

Jackie H. Townsend, Jr., 38, was sentenced this morning to serve 108 months in federal prison for knowingly possessing with the intent to distribute significant quantities of methamphetamine and heroin, U.S. Attorney Donald S. Boyce announced. Townsend, an Edwardsville native, pled guilty to the charge in June of this year. In handing down the nine-year sentence, Chief United States District Judge Michael J. Reagan noted that heroin has become more mainstream in recent years, while meth continues to ruin families. "These are serious drugs," he observed, "and assisting in their distribution is a serious offense." As part of his sentence, Townsend was also ordered to pay a $500 fine and to serve three years on supervised release.

The case against Townsend began on January 13, 2016, when inspectors from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service observed a suspicious Express Mail package at the USPS distribution center in Hazelwood, Missouri. After a narcotics-trained dog alerted on the package, inspectors obtained a federal search warrant for the box and found that it contained over two kilograms of 96% pure methamphetamine (ice) and over 500 grams of heroin. Roughly two pounds of marijuana were also inside. Agents repackaged the box and delivered it to the addressee at a hotel in Caseyville, Illinois. The woman who received the package told investigators she had agreed to accept it on behalf of someone named "Paris" – a person later determined to be Townsend. After being advised that the package had arrived, Townsend drove to the hotel, took possession of the box, and was promptly arrested.

This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, working with agents from the Illinois State Police – Metropolitan Enforcement Group Southern Illinois (MEGSI). Assistant United States Attorney Nathan D. Stump prosecuted the case at sentencing.