BENTON — A 45-year-old Eldorado man was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Benton to 14 years in prison for possessing with intent to distribute four ounces of highly pure methamphetamine (commonly known as “crystal” or “ice”) and for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Stephen R. Wigginton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois announced Joseph Scott Robertson was sentenced for offenses that occurred on August 19, 2014, in Eldorado.

Evidence introduced in support of the guilty plea and sentence showed that in August 2014 Robertson took delivery of four ounces of methamphetamine that had been sent to him through a commercial carrier service, but was intercepted by law enforcement before its delivery.

The delivery to Robertson was made by an undercover law enforcement agent. A subsequent search of the residence Robertson was living in revealed $18,845 in cash which Robertson admitted was obtained from the sale of methamphetamine, delivery receipts for numerous other shipments of methamphetamine he had previously received, and a .38 caliber revolver Robertson admitted he possessed to protect his drugs and cash.

Robertson had previously been convicted of several felony offenses. Laboratory tests conducted by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration showed that the methamphetamine Robertson possessed was 100-percent pure.

In addition to the 14 year prison sentence, Robertson was ordered to pay fines and special assessments totaling $400 to the United States and was placed on a 4 year term of supervised release to follow his incarceration. Following his sentencing, Robertson was returned to the custody of the United States Marshal, where has been held without bond since his arrest on the federal charges in December, to await designation to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility.

The case was investigated by the Carmi office of the Southern Illinois Drug Task Force with the assistance of the DEA. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James M. Cutchin.

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