Galesburg Area Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Possession of Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – A Galesburg, Illinois, man, Forest “Woody” Norville, 47, was sentenced to twenty years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, on August 10, 2021, for possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine.

On March 31, 2021, a federal jury found Norville guilty of possession with intent to deliver at least 50 grams of methamphetamine. The evidence at trial and during his recent sentencing hearing showed that while conducting a traffic stop on April 17, 2019, Galesburg Police officers found Norville with two vacuum sealed bags containing 106.2 grams of pure methamphetamine. At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Sara Darrow noted that Norville, who has previous convictions for burglary and other drug-related offenses, also committed perjury during the trial.  

“Methamphetamine distribution and use continues to plague our community,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Douglas J. Quivey. “The United States Attorney’s office, in close collaboration with our State’s Attorney partners, will continue to work with local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute large-scale dealers. The sentence imposed by Judge Darrow sends another strong message that methamphetamine dealers will pay a stiff price for the harm they cause.”

The investigation was conducted by the Galesburg Police Department. Valuable assistance was provided by the Knox County Sherriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Mathew and Alyssa Raya represented the government.