Federal Inmate Sentenced for Attempting to Smuggle Marijuana into the Prison

A. Courtney Cox, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that VINCENT B. HAMILTON, 46, of Chicago, Illinois, who is also an inmate at the United States Penitentiary at Marion, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Benton, Illinois, to a term of 12 months imprisonment for his role in attempting to smuggle marijuana into the prison to sell to other inmates. HAMILTON had previously pled guilty to a two-count indictment charging him with possession of a prohibited object (marijuana) by an inmate and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. HAMILTON was also ordered to pay fines and special assessments totaling $300 and was placed on a three year term of supervised to release to follow his term of incarceration.

Evidence presented to support the plea and sentence showed that another individual smuggled marijuana into the visiting room at USP-Marion on August 10, 2008, and passed it to HAMILTON who then concealed it in his body. Prison officials observed the transaction take place and successfully recovered the marijuana from HAMILTON, who admitted that he intended to sell the marijuana to other inmates.

At the time he committed these offenses, HAMILTON was serving a 235 month sentence at USP-Marion for armed bank robbery and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence relating to his robbery of the North Community Bank in Chicago in 2004. The 12 month term of imprisonment was ordered to be served consecutively to HAMILTON’s bank robbery sentence.

Investigation into the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James M. Cutchin.