United States Drug Enforcement Administration

PEORIA, Ill. – Todd C. Smith, Assistant Special Agent in Charge at U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Chicago, and U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Harris of the Central District of Illinois announced that Sean E. Ward, 49, of Pekin, Illinois, was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for distribution of methamphetamine.

At Ward’s sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge James E. Shadid found that Ward was responsible for distributing approximately 246.2 grams of methamphetamine. Judge Shadid noted that Ward’s criminal history was separated by periods of sobriety, and that Ward appeared committed to working on his substance abuse and mental health issues.

At the sentencing hearing, the government presented evidence that Ward sold ice methamphetamine on three different occasions in the summer of 2021. The largest identified sale was 110.5 grams of pure methamphetamine, as confirmed by DEA laboratory results.

Ward was indicted in August 2021, and pleaded guilty in October 2021. Ward has been in the custody of the U.S. Marshals since his arrest, but was permitted to attend residential substance abuse treatment prior to his sentencing.

The statutory penalties for distribution of methamphetamine are not less than 10 years and up to life imprisonment, not more than a $10 million dollar fine, and a minimum five-year to a maximum life term of supervised release. Ward was eligible for a lower sentence because he was sentenced pursuant to the “safety-valve” provision of 18 U.S.C. §3553(f).

The Pekin Police Department and the DEA investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine G. Legge represented the government in the prosecution, with assistance of the Tazewell County State’s Attorney’s Office.