Centralia Man Sentenced On Gun, Drug Charges

Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that Craig Allen Heitkamp, 51, Centralia, Illinois, was sentenced on Friday, September 4, 2015, on Possession of Pseudoephedrine with the Intent to Manufacture Methamphetamine and Unlawful User of a Controlled Substance in Possession of Firearms charges to 87 months in federal prison, to be followed by 12 months of supervised release, a $500 fine and a $200 special assessment. Heitkamp was also ordered to forfeit certain firearms.

Court documents establish that from approximately May 2010, through and including June 4, 2014, Heitkamp manufactured methamphetamine in Centralia, Illinois, using pseudoephedrine pills he obtained from various people or merchants. In exchange for the pseudoephedrine pills others obtained for him, Heitkamp traded cash or methamphetamine he manufactured. Heitkamp was a methamphetamine user who also possessed handguns in violation of federal law.

Information leading to the charges against Heitkamp was obtained in an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, and the Clinton County Sheriff’s Department, assisted by the Illinois State Police Methamphetamine Response Team, the Centralia Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department and the Mt. Vernon Police Department. The case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Kit Morrissey.