JEFFERSON COUNTY — A 25-year-old Centralia man was sentenced Tuesday in Jefferson County Court to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to one of two Class X felony charges against him.

Asante Poore was arrested in August when Mt. Vernon police performed a well-being check on a vehicle sitting on the southbound off-ramp of Interstate 57 at Broadway and found Poore unresponsive with a handgun in his lap.

After attempting to wake Poore for nearly 30 minutes, officers placed stop sticks around the vehicle’s tires and block the vehicle with squads to prevent him from fleeing.

When officers were still unable to wake Poore, they approached the vehicle and broke out the driver’s window before removing him from the vehicle without further incident. The firearm was found to be loaded.

Poore was ultimately charged with being a habitual criminal and armed violence – both Class X felonies. He pleaded guilty to the armed violence charge and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

He had been released to parole in December 2019 after being convicted in Marion County in 2018 of aggravated unlawful use of a loaded firearm.