From the office of Logan County State's Attorney Jonathan Wright
Last of 19 arrested on drug charges in 2013 convicted
Dionte Taylor sentence for Class 3 Felony

[June 01, 2015]  LINCOLN - On May 18, 2015, Judge William Workman accepted a fully negotiated plea sending Dionte Taylor to the Department of Corrections for committing the offense of Unlawful Delivery of a Controlled Substance, a Class 3 Felony. Taylor’s case was the last remaining open case involving 19 local residents who were indicted by a Grand Jury and subsequently arrested in early July of 2013 for their parts in delivering illegal drugs throughout Lincoln and Logan County.

Every one of the 19 individuals that were indicted has now been convicted of Felonies for Unlawful Delivery of Controlled Substances. These convictions have resulted in sentences that have combined for 76 total years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

These convictions could not have been possible without the hard work and extremely well conducted investigations completed by Sheriff Nichols and the Logan County Sheriff’s Department. Special recognition should be given to Deputies Mark Landers and Sean Kindred for their rolls and time spent on these investigations. In addition, Assistant Brad Hauge worked diligently on the prosecution of these cases.

The investigations began in February of 2013 and took months to complete. All of the cases involved the sale of heroin, powder cocaine or crack cocaine.

The individuals who were convicted are:

Justin Babbitt
Timothy Ballard
Tonya Ballard
John Beck
Elizabeth Coatney
Karmalisha Duncan
Fabian Gardner
Wendy Helton
Curtis Kelly
Natasha Lee
Brad Parker
Trevante Pratt
Miranda Reynolds
Regina Richmond
Stasha Sanders
Damone Stewart
Dionte Taylor
Gerald Thomas
Billy Trail Jr.