Sparta resident sentenced in meth case

<span>On December 17, acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, James L. Porter, announced 43-year-old Thomas H. Schaeffer, of Sparta, was sentenced on a one-count indictment of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.</span>

<span>Schaeffer, who had previously pleaded guilty to the methamphetamine offense, was sentenced to 188 months (15.6 years) incarceration, four years supervised release and was fined $400.</span>

<span>"I think it's a good way to send a message to people that if you deal drugs in Randolph County, we're going to be after you," said Randolph County Sheriff Shannon Wolff. "You may have your freedom taken away."</span>

<span>Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings established that, between January 2014 and February 2015, Schaeffer and others were transporting multi-ounce amounts of ice/methamphetamine from Kansas City to Southern Illinois.</span>

<span>Schaeffer was supplying dealer amounts of the ice/methamphetamine to others in Randolph County.</span>

<span>At sentencing, the district judge found that Schaeffer was responsible for the distribution of approximately 2.95 kilograms of ice/methamphetamine.</span>

<span>The investigation was conducted by the Randolph County Sheriff's Office, Jackson County Sheriff's Office and Tilden Police Department.</span>

<span>"I appreciate all the hard work the investigators and officers put in on these drug investigations," Wolff said. "They work long hours to make these cases."</span>

<span>The case was assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Amanda A. Robertson for prosecution.</span>