United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BENTON, IL. - Stephen R Wigginton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced that two women and one man from Mt. Vernon, Illinois, were indicted on crack cocaine charges on March 8, 2011.

Rebecca A. Phillips, 43, Tammy R. Thomas, 47, and Jamel K. Sandifer, 34, were charged in a ten count Indictment returned by a Federal Grand Jury sitting in Benton, Illinois. All three defendants were charged with conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine between January 2009 and December 20, 2010. The Indictment alleged that the amount of crack cocaine involved in the conspiracy was more than twenty-eight grams.

Rebecca A. Phillips was also charged with four counts of distribution of crack cocaine in Counts 2, 3, 4, and 5. Those distributions of crack cocaine occurred on August 26, August 27, October 11, and October 15, 2010.

Tammy R. Thomas was also charged with three counts of distribution of crack cocaine in Counts 6, 7, and 8. Those distributions of crack cocaine occurred on August 24, August 25, and August 27, 2010.

Jamel K. Sandifer was also charged with two counts of distribution of crack cocaine in Counts 9 and 10. Those distributions of crack cocaine occurred on August 23 and August 24, 2010.

The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Joint Narcotics Unit of the Mt. Vernon Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, the Illinois State Police, the Jefferson County State’s Attorney’s Office, and other law enforcement agencies 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, and federal, state and local law enforcement agencies directed at removing guns and drugs from our communities.