Walter Gardner, Jr., 46, of Centralia, Illinois, was sentenced on Aug. 13, 2015, to a total of 60 months in federal prison on one count of a four-count indictment charging him with Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with the Intent to Distribute Cocaine, Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced. Following his prison sentence, Gardner will be on federal supervised release for 4 years. He was ordered to pay a fine of $200, as well as a $100 special assessment.
Court filings showed that between approximately January 2010 and January 2013, Gardner was involved in an organization which engaged in a conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine.
Evidence in support of this prosecution was obtained in an investigation which was conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF initiative is designed to bring federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and resources together to identify, target and dismantle large national and international drug trafficking organizations.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service, MEGSI, and Illinois State Police, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Deirdre A. Durborow.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
