Three people have been indicted on charges related to Alpha-Pyrrolidinopentiophenone (Alpha-PVP), also known as "bath salts," Donald S. Boyce, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today.
Toby L. Depoister, 32, of Edgewood, Illinois, Crystal L. Behrens, 33, of Alma, Illinois, and Brandon L. Hewkin, 28, of Farina, Illinois, were charged in a one-count superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury on May 8, 2018. The indictment charges that from 2015, until on or about December 2017, in Clay County and Marion County, and elsewhere, Depoister, Behrens, and Hewkin conspired with Dennis R. Thacker, Jr., 49, of Alma, Illinois, and others known and unknown, to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, Alpha-PVP, a Schedule I controlled substance, in violation of federal law.
All three defendants were arraigned in federal court on May 11, 2018. If convicted, they each face up to 20 years imprisonment, up to a $1,000,000 fine, supervised release of at least three years, and a $100 special assessment. Trial is currently scheduled to begin on July 9, 2018, and will be held at the federal courthouse in Benton, Illinois.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Flora Police Department, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, the Southeastern Illinois Drug Task Force, and the Illinois State Police.
An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
