EAST ST. LOUIS MAN FOUND GUILTY ON CRACK COCAINE CHARGES

Randy G. Massey, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on March 29, 2007, BYRON BLAKE, age 38, of East St. Louis, Illinois, was found guilty by a jury in United States District Court, East St. Louis, Illinois, of Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Crack Cocaine, Distribution of Crack Cocaine, and Distribution of Cocaine. The jury also returned special verdicts finding that BLAKE possessed in excess of 50 grams of crack cocaine. BLAKE faces a life sentence. Sentencing is scheduled for July16, 2007, at 10 a.m., in United States District Court, East St. Louis, Illinois.

A co-defendant previously pleaded guilty in the case to Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute in Excess of 50 Grams of Cocaine Base. Sentencing is scheduled for April 23, 2007, at 9 a.m. in United States District Court, East St. Louis, Illinois.

The investigation was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation and was conducted by agents and officers of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, MEGSI, and the Illinois State Police. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Donald S. Boyce, James M. Cutchin, and Robert L. Garrison.