United States Drug Enforcement Administration

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Todd C. Smith, Assistant Special Agent in Charge at U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Chicago Field Division, and U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Harris for the Central District of Illinois announced that Tyrell Harris, 29, of Springfield, Illinois, was sentenced on Oct.18, 2022, to concurrent sentences of 57 months’ imprisonment for distribution of heroin and 120 months’ imprisonment for possession of 100 grams or more of heroin with intent to distribute.

At the sentencing hearing in front of U.S. District Judge Sue E. Myerscough, the government presented evidence that, when officers attempted to arrest Mr. Harris at his residence on an unrelated arrest warrant for firearms charges, they found approximately 240 grams of heroin inside, in addition to other evidence related to drug sales.

Harris was indicted in May 2019 and pleaded guilty in June 2022.

The statutory penalties for distribution of heroin are up to 30 years in prison, up to a $2 million fine, not less than six years of supervised release, and a $100 mandatory special assessment. The statutory penalties for possession of 100 grams or more of heroin with intent to distribute are up to life in prison, up to a $8 million fine, not less than eight years of supervised release, and a $100 mandatory special assessment.

The Springfield Police Department and the DEA investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Z. Weir represented the government in the prosecution.