Meth Possession Earns Las Vegas Man 11+ Years in Prison
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – U.S. District Court Judge David W. Dugan sentenced Ace Hart, II, 45, of Las Vegas, April 16, 2024, to 11 years and eight months in prison for possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute it. Hart still faces unrelated charges of residential burglary in Madison County, Illinois. Judge Dugan ordered that Hart’s sentence be served consecutively to any sentence he might receive in the Madison County case.
Hart was indicted in July 2022 and pleaded guilty in November 2023.
At the sentencing hearing, the government established that in October 2021, law enforcement contacted Hart while investigating an unrelated matter. Upon a search of Hart’s vehicle, officers located a backpack containing 90.9 grams of methamphetamine with a 100% purity rate. During the hearing, Judge Dugan noted the terrible impact that methamphetamine use has had on communities in the Southern District of Illinois in determining a proper sentence. The judge also found that Hart was attempting to set up a distribution network in Illinois, with Hart supplying the methamphetamine from either Nevada or California.
The statutory penalties for distributing methamphetamine are up to life imprisonment, up to a $10,000,000 fine, and up to a life term of supervised release.
The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated this case with the Troy (Ill.) Police Department.
