Donald S. Boyce, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on Nov. 10, 2016, Edward Powell, 35, a former inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution located in Greenville, Illinois, commonly known as FCI-Greenville, pled guilty to an indictment charging him with Possession of Contraband by a Federal Inmate. Powell faces a term of imprisonment of not more than five years, a fine up to $250,000, or both, and a term of supervised release of not more than three years. In addition, Powell’s sentence on this offense must be served consecutively to the sentence he is currently serving. The defendant’s sentencing has been scheduled for March 1, 2017, in East St. Louis, Illinois. Powell has been held without bond since his arraignment on August 4, 2016.
The charge arose when, on May 8, 2016, a correctional officer monitoring the visiting room at FCI-Greenville noticed Powell and his visitor switch bags of chips. The visit was terminated and the bag of chips given to Powell was inspected. Eight small balloons containing marihuana were found inside the bag of chips handed to Powell. Powell was also placed in a dry cell where another two small balloons containing suspected marihuana were ultimately recovered. Federal inmates are prohibited from possessing marihuana.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Prisons’ Special Investigation Section. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Angela Scott.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
