Federal grand jury indicts 3 for intent to distribute cocaine

Three men are facing serious challenges related to alleged illegal drug activity in Illinois. They were recently arraigned in a U.S. District Court. All were indicted for conspiracy with intent to distribute cocaine.

Being accused of intending to distribute at least a pound of cocaine is not the only drug-related allegations against the men. Their recent Wednesday court appearance came a day after they had each been arrested. All three waived their rights to detention hearings.

They were placed in the custody of U.S. Marshals and have been ordered to remain there. Several task forces combined efforts in a massive investigation that led to the charges against the men. All three men are now awaiting trial, which is tentatively set to take place in April.

Intent to distribute approximately 500 grams of cocaine and other serious drug charges often carries very severe penalties under conviction. When it comes to efforts to get cocaine off the streets, prosecutors tend to be quite aggressive in their quests to obtain convictions. In Illinois and at the federal level, every defendant has the right to retain personal defense representation before going to court in an effort to explore all options available to combat any tactics and/or strategies set forth by the prosecution. Such assistance can actually begin long before trial, as an attorney can scrutinize any search, seizure or arrest process that took place to determine whether any personal rights were violated; if so, a challenge can be made in court against any evidence proffered by prosecutors.

Source: myjournalcourier.com, "Three charged in Beardstown-area cocaine bust", Feb. 15, 2017