Tilden man gets 16 years for meth conviction

A Tilden man was sentenced to 16 years in federal prison on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, according to Donald S. Boyce, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois.

Evidence at plea and sentencing hearings established that Joseph S. Hatley, 39, of Tilden, was involved with other persons in the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine in Southern Illinois, Boyce said in a release. Co-defendants Dyllan Wayland and Colty Peak were previously sentenced to 8 years and 4 months imprisonment and 11 years and 8 months imprisonment, respectively, for their roles in the conspiracy.

The one-count superseding indictment - to which Hatley had pleaded guilty - charged that the conspiracy occurred between November 2013 and August 2015, in Perry, Randolph, Monroe, Jackson and St. Clair counties.

At sentencing, the district judge found Hatley responsible for the distribution of 1.76 kilograms of methamphetamine and 283.5 grams of ice. Ice is methamphetamine which has a purity level of at least 80 percent. Hatley was also found responsible for the unlawful possession of 28.8 grams of pseudoephedrine.

His sentence was enhanced based on his reckless endangerment of others during an August 18, 2015 police pursuit in Monroe County.

A judge said Hartley's sentence will run consecutively to any previously imposed state sentence.

This case is part of an ongoing investigation being conducted by the Randolph County Sheriff's Office, Jackson County Sheriff's Office, Perry County Sheriff's Office, Monroe County Sheriff's Office, Percy Police Department, Steeleville Police Department, Sparta Police Department, and Illinois Department of Corrections. The Randolph County state's attorney's office also assisted in the investigation.