Mt. Vernon Man Sentenced On Crack Cocaine Charges

SEP 5 -- September 4, 2007 : Randy G. Massey, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on August 30, 2007 , KENDEL W. McKINNEY, age 24, of Mt. Vernon , Illinois , was sentenced in the United States District Court in Benton , Illinois .

McKINNEY was sentenced to 293 months imprisonment, was fined $500, and was placed on 6 years supervised release. McKINNEY had previously pleaded guilty to a federal indictment charging him with two counts of distribution of crack cocaine.

The investigation in this case was a cooperative effort between the Joint Narcotics Unit of the Mt. Vernon Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, pursuant to their participation in the Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative.

Project Safe Neighborhoods is a joint and cooperative effort of the United States Attorney’s Office, the Jefferson County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies directed at removing guns and drugs from our communities.

The case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney George Norwood.