Galesburg Man Sentenced to 156 months in Prison for Possession with the Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – A Galesburg man, Christopher Lee Mixon, 39, of the 400 block of West South Street, was sentenced on December 21, 2022, to 156 months in the Bureau of Prisons, to be followed by four years of supervised release, for possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.

At the sentencing hearing before Chief U.S. District Court Judge Sara L. Darrow, it was found that, based on prior convictions, Mixon qualified as a career offender for distributing cocaine and attempted aggravated discharge of a firearm. At the hearing the government presented evidence that, in April 2021, Mixon sold 41.7 grams of methamphetamine that tested 99% pure and in May 2021, Mixon sold 49.95 grams of methamphetamine that tested 90% pure. Law enforcement executed a search warrant on Mixon’s residence in May of 2021 and located approximately 52.1 grams of methamphetamine that tested between 99% and 100% pure. Mixon later admitted he began selling methamphetamine weekly in December of 2020. Evidence in the presentence report provided to the court stated that Mixon was in possession of a firearm while he was selling methamphetamine.

Mixon was indicted in June 2021 and pleaded guilty in August 2022. He has been in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest in June 2021.

The statutory penalties for possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine are not less than five years and not more than forty years imprisonment, not more than $5,000,000 fine, and a minimum four years to a maximum life term of supervised release.

The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Western Illinois Transnational Organized Crime Task Force in conjunction with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, Galesburg Police Department, and Macomb Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Joel C. Brakken represented the government in the prosecution.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.