Kankakee Man Sentenced To 13 Years In Federal Prison For Distribution Of Crack Cocaine

Urbana, Ill. -- U.S. District Judge Michael P. McCuskey today sentenced Deshawn Lewis, 36, of Kankakee, Ill., to 157 months (13 years, 1 month) in the federal Bureau of Prisons for distribution of crack cocaine. Lewis was also ordered to serve eight years of supervised release upon his release from prison.

Lewis faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years to life in prison based on two prior felony drug convictions. In 1997, Lewis was convicted in Kankakee County Circuit Court for unlawful delivery of a controlled substance and was sentenced to four years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. In 2004, Lewis was convicted for armed violence and sentenced to 20 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Lewis was released from state prison in September 2011 and remained on state parole when he was arrested on federal charges in January 2013. 

Since Lewis was arrested on Jan. 16, 2013, by agents of the Kankakee Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group (KAMEG), he has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. A federal grand jury indicted Lewis in February 2013, and on Dec. 18, 2013, Lewis pled guilty to one count of distribution of crack cocaine. Lewis admitted that on May 15, 2012, he distributed 49.8 grams of crack cocaine at a Kankakee gas station. 

The charges resulted from an investigation conducted by the Kankakee Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group (KAMEG) and the Illinois State Police, with assistance from the Kankakee County State’s Attorney's Office.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronda H. Coleman.