An Alton man will be spending the next 18 ½ years in prison on drug and attempted escape charges.
41-year old Randy Bull of Alton was sentenced last week to 222 months in federal prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, for distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, conspiracy to escape from an institution, and conspiracy to possess contraband in prison.
According to a press release from the U.S. Justice Department, the government presented evidence that the Bull sold over 72 grams of ice methamphetamine in July of 2020. After he was taken into custody, and while detained at the Sangamon County Jail in Springfield, Bull and three others engaged in a conspiracy to break Bull, and inmate James Russwinkel of Springfield,out of the county jail by breaking a cell window. Russwinkel and the escape co-conspirators were sentenced in federal court in 2022.
During the hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Colleen R. Lawless found that Bull was responsible, based on his own admissions, for an additional 11,000 grams of methamphetamine along with the amount he had already sold. Judge Lawless specifically noted that Bull’s long history of violence and the need to protect the community warranted the extended prison term.
Bull pleaded guilty to both cases back in May and had been detained as part of the drug distribution case since August of 2020.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Illinois State Police Central Illinois Enforcement Group investigated the defendant’s distribution case. The Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office investigated the attempted escape. The case brought against Bull was a part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods program.