Rock Island, Ill. – A federal grand jury today returned an indictment charging a Virginia woman who had previously been arrested and charged by criminal complaint in the Central District of Illinois. The indictment charges Tamara Louise Geagley, 26, of Chesapeake, Virginia, with one count of possession with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana on June 13, 2009, in Henry County, Illinois.

According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Geagley was stopped by Illinois State Police for a traffic violation on June 13, 2009, as she was driving a truck and trailer westbound on Interstate 80 in Henry County, Illinois. As a result of an alert by a State Police K-9, the trailer was searched and approximately 300 pounds of marijuana was seized from the trailer.

Geagley was arrested on June 13, 2009. She appeared before U.S. District Judge Michael M. Mihm on June 18, 2009, and was released on bond. If convicted, Geagley faces statutory penalties of five years to 40 years in prison and up to $2,000,000 in fines.

In a related case, two defendants, Melissa Giove, 37, of Chesapeake, Virginia, and Eric Canori, 30, of Wilton, New York, have been charged by complaint in the Northern District of New York with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana.

The charges are the result of an investigation by Illinois State Police; the Quad City Metropolitan Enforcement Group; New York State Police; the Capital District Drug Enforcement Task Force, Albany, New York; and divisions of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Rock Island, Illinois; Albany, New York; and Norfolk, Virginia. With the cooperation of the Henry County, Illinois State’s Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, the charge against Geagley is being prosecuted in the Central District of Illinois by Assistant U.S. Attorney John K. Mehochko.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment is merely an accusation; the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.