United States Drug Enforcement Administration

EAST ST. LOUIS, IL. - Ezell A. Curry , 38, of Centralia, Ill., was sentenced today in United States District Court in East St, Louis, Ill., to 188 months imprisonment, six years of supervised release, and was fined $400, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.

Curry had previously pleaded guilty to two counts in a federal indictment. Count 1 charged that on May 26, 2009, Curry distributed crack cocaine, and count 2 charged that on June 2, 2009, Curry again distributed crack cocaine.

The investigation was successfully conducted by the cooperative efforts of state, local and federal law enforcement agencies working together to eliminate drugs and make our communities safer places. Among these agencies were Centralia Police Department, Clinton County Sheriff’s Department, Joint Narcotics Unit of the Mt. Vernon Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, Illinois State Police, Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Marion County State’s Attorney’s Office, the United States Secret Service, the United States Marshal Service. This cooperation was accomplished as a result of law enforcement participation in the Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative, which is a joint and cooperative effort of the United States Attorney’s Office, as well as federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies directed at removing guns and drugs from our communities.