Two St. Louis Area Men Sentenced For Role In Cocaine Conspiracy

Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on September 18, 2015, Steven Syms, 41, of St. Louis, Missouri, and Antoine Jenkins, 27, of Cahokia, Illinois, were sentenced for their involvement in a drug distribution organization that funneled cocaine from Houston, Texas, to the St. Louis metro area between April 2011 and February 2013. Syms, a leading co-conspirator, was sentenced to 151 months in prison, 5 years’ supervised release, and ordered to pay a $500 fine and a $100 special assessment. Jenkins was sentenced to 27 months in prison, 3 years’ supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 fine and a $100 special assessment. Jenkins’ 27 month sentence was ordered to run consecutive (in addition) to a previously imposed sentence of 308 months for kidnapping and using or carrying a firearm during or in relation to kidnapping. To date, ten other members of the drug trafficking organization have been convicted and sentenced.

Evidence in support of the sentencing was obtained in an investigation which was conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF initiative is designed to bring federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and resources together to identify, target and dismantle large national and international drug trafficking organizations. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laura V. Reppert and Special Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan S. Drucker.