Home Springfield Press Releases 2011 Centreville Man Pleads Guilty to Possession with the Intent to Distribute Marijuana
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Centreville Man Pleads Guilty to Possession with the Intent to Distribute Marijuana

U.S. Attorney's Office May 03, 2011
  • Southern District of Illinois (618) 628-3700

A Centreville man pled guilty on May 3, 2011, to an indictment charging him with possession with the intent to distribute marijuana, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(D), the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois Stephen R. Wigginton announced today. Robert Hopkins, 39, of Centreville, Illinois, faces a term of imprisonment, increased because of a prior felony drug conviction, of not more 10 years, a $500,000 fine, or both, and a term of supervised release of at least four years. Sentencing is scheduled for August 12, 2011, in East St. Louis, Illinois.

The violation occurred on June 7, 2010, when members of the WAVE Task Force searched defendant Robert Hopkins’ mother’s house after an anonymous source reported that marijuana was stored there. Hopkins, who arrived during the search, led the officers to the marijuana that he kept in his mother’s house. In a voluntary, videotaped statement, Hopkins admitted that the marijuana was his, and that his mother did not know the marijuana was in her house. He also admitted that he intended to distribute the marijuana.

During the interview, Hopkins gave members of the WAVE Task Force written consent to search his residence. The task force members found more marijuana in the defendant’s house, as well as three digital scales.

The case resulted from the efforts of the WAVE (Working Against Violent Elements) Task Force, which focuses its efforts on combating violent crime in East St. Louis, Washington Park, and surrounding communities. WAVE was formed in November 2009, and is a collaboration of law enforcement officers from the Illinois State Police, the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southwestern Illinois (MEGSI), the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department, the East St. Louis Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the United States Marshals Service. The WAVE Task Force receives financial support through the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative, a nationwide federal program which endeavors to address gun-related violence. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Angela Scott.

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