Urbana, Ill. – A federal jury today returned guilty verdicts against Chazzie T. Isom, 29, of St. Anne, Illinois, for three counts of distribution of crack cocaine in Watseka and Kankakee, Illinois in late 2008 and January 2009. Isom was charged with two counts of distributing five grams or more of crack cocaine and one count of distribution of 50 grams or more of crack cocaine.

Jurors began hearing evidence in the trial on Monday, September 14, 2009. The government presented evidence that Isom knowingly caused another person to distribute crack cocaine on December 5, 2008, in the parking lot of a restaurant in Watseka, Illinois, and that Isom distributed crack cocaine in Kankakee, Illinois on two occasions: in the parking lot of a grocery store on December 10, 2008, and on January 22, 2009 at a restaurant.

Chief U.S. District Judge Michael P. McCuskey scheduled sentencing for Isom on January 8, 2010, at 9:00 a.m. in Urbana. Isom faces a mandatory minimum 20 years to life in prison because he has a prior conviction for delivery of a controlled substance.

Isom has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest on the charges in January 2009.

The investigation was conducted by the Kankakee Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group (KAMEG), with assistance from the Watseka Police Department, Illinois State Police, and the Kankakee City Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronda Holliman Coleman.