Peoria Man Sentenced to 200 Months in Prison for Trafficking in Methamphetamine

PEORIA, Ill. – A Peoria, Illinois, man, Demetrice L. Sharp, 39, of the 1500 block of West Candletree Drive, was sentenced on April 26, 2023, to 200 months in prison for each of four counts related to trafficking methamphetamine: one count of conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, two counts of distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and one count of possession with intent to distribute 450 grams or more of methamphetamine. The sentences will be served concurrently and will be followed by an eight-year term of supervised release.

At the sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge James E. Shadid, the United States presented evidence that Sharp and Lashonda Patterson conspired to distribute methamphetamine during the spring of 2022. As a part of the conspiracy, they sold methamphetamine on two occasions in April 2022. For the first sale, Sharp provided 55.85 grams of methamphetamine. For the second, Patterson provided 112.7 grams of methamphetamine. Both deliveries were 100% pure methamphetamine.

In June 2022, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents obtained a search warrant for the apartment that Sharp and Patterson shared. When agents searched the apartment, they found a bag containing 298.6 grams of methamphetamine in the master bathroom. The substance was 97% pure methamphetamine. The distribution from the sales and search warrant totaled 467.15 grams of methamphetamine.

A complaint was issued that same month, and Sharp and Patterson were arrested on federal warrants. They were indicted later in June, and Sharp pleaded guilty in October 2022. He has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest. Patterson also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and she will be sentenced at a later date.

The statutory penalties for each of the four counts are 10 years to life imprisonment, followed by five-year to life term of supervised release.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Field Office, and Western Illinois Transnational Organized Crime Task Force investigated the case, with assistance from the Peoria Police Department, Monmouth Police Department, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, Galesburg Police Department, East Moline Police Department, Illinois State Police, and U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Hollingshead-Cook represented the United States in the prosecution.