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Press Release

Life In Prison For Normal Ill. Man For Crack Cocaine And Marijuana Distribution Conspiracy

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of Illinois

Peoria, Ill. – U.S. District Judge Michael M. Mihm today sentenced Richard George Martin, 35, of Normal, Ill., to serve the remainder of his life in prison with no possibility for parole to be served concurrently with his sentence in a McLean county drug case. Martin was also ordered to forfeit more than $120,000 in seized assets. Following today’s court hearing, Martin was remanded to the Illinois Department of Corrections.
           
A jury convicted Martin in December 2013, for conspiracy to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and more than 50 kilograms of marijuana from 1999 to 2011. According to court documents, Martin has at least three prior felony drug convictions in addition to McLean county case number 10-CF-981. 

This case was prosecuted as a result of "Operation Prairie Eagle," a cooperative investigation targeting distribution of crack cocaine and marijuana in the Bloomington-Normal area. The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation was led by the Normal Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Greggory R. Walters is prosecuting the defendants charged as a result of the “Prairie Eagle” investigation.  Since 2011, “Operation Prairie Eagle” has resulted in the conviction of 22 defendants for conspiracy to distribute and the distribution of controlled substances in the Bloomington-Normal area. 

Updated June 22, 2015