St. Louis Man Pleads Guilty To Cocaine Offense

Michael J.W. Bryant, 41, of St. Louis, Missouri, pled guilty on August 1, 2013, to Unlawful Possession with the Intent to Distribute Cocaine, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. Bryant had been indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in East St. Louis on June 18. He is currently scheduled to be sentenced on November 8, 2013, at which time he faces a possible penalty of twenty (20) years in prison, a $1,000,000 fine, at least three (3) years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.

According to the Stipulation of Facts filed with the Court at the time of the plea, on May 30, 2012, the Illinois State Police conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle being driven by Bryant. As the Trooper approached the stopped car, he smelled the odor of marijuana coming from it. Bryant admitted that he had smoked marijuana approximately thirty minutes prior to the traffic stop. The Trooper then searched the vehicle on probable cause and found a small quantity of marijuana. Bryant was arrested and his vehicle was towed. A subsequent search of the vehicle resulted in the seizure of 499.8 grams of cocaine.

Evidence for this indictment was gathered during an investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Illinois State Police. This case has been assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Randy G. Massey for prosecution.