The Cass County State’s Attorney’s Office has announced the conviction of a Beardstown man on drug charges.
Cass County State’s Attorney Craig R. Miller’s office announced yesterday that 42-year old John J. Hennings of Beardstown received a 7-year sentence to the Illinois Department of Corrections on Thursday after pleading guilty to possession of methamphetamine 5-15 grams with intent to deliver.
On January 12, 2024 a Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy performed a traffic stop on a vehicle in Beardstown in which Hennings was a passenger. Deputies and the Beardstown Police conducted a probable cause search of the vehicle which led to the discovery of 12.3 grams of a substance containing methamphetamine and a scale found in the passenger’s seat of the vehicle. A drug chemist with the Illinois State Police later confirmed the substance was methamphetamine.
At the time of his arrest, Hennings had outstanding charges of possession of methamphetamine less than 5 grams stemming from an arrest on July 7, 2023 and was arrested again while on pretrial release after the January 12, 2024 stop for possession of methamphetamine and possession of a controlled substance. These remaining drug charges were dropped per the plea agreement accepted by Cass County Judge Timothy J. Wessel.
Hennings was also sentenced to 1 year of mandatory supervised release and ordered to pay a county fine. He was given day-for-day credit for time served.