Illinois Meth Trafficker Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison
PEORIA, Ill. – Todd C. Smith, Assistant Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Chicago, and U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Harris of the Central District of Illinois announced that Demarco E. Washington, 43, of Peoria, was sentenced on March 24, 2022, to 12 years in prison, to be followed by eight years of supervised release, for distribution of five grams or more of methamphetamine.
At Washington’s sentencing hearing, the government presented evidence that Washington distributed ice methamphetamine to drug dealers and users in the Peoria, Pekin, and Bloomington areas from at least March 2020 through January 2021.
Also at the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge James E. Shadid found that Washington was responsible for distributing more than 2.3 kilograms of ice methamphetamine. Judge Shadid noted that Washington was a drug dealer who had two prior convictions for distributing drugs.
Washington was indicted in April 2021. He entered a plea of guilty in November 2021. He has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals since his arrest.
The statutory penalties for distribution of 5 grams or more of methamphetamine are a mandatory minimum of 10 years’ imprisonment with one prior qualifying conviction and a maximum of life imprisonment; a maximum fine of $8 million; and not less than an eight-year term of supervised release.
The Pekin Police Department, Peoria Metropolitan Enforcement Group, and the DEA investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Hollingshead-Cook represented the government in the prosecution.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF)’s National Methamphetamine Strategic Initiative, spearheaded locally out of the Pekin Police Department. The primary goal of this initiative is to address methamphetamine trafficking and its attendant consequences by using a coordinated, multi-agency approach targeting the highest levels of drug trafficking leadership. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
