A DuPage County man pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges in Morgan County Circuit Court on Tuesday.
41-year old Joseph K. Purnell of Oak Brook pleaded guilty to Class X felony possession of methamphetamine between 100-400 grams.
Purnell was arrested in a traffic stop by Jacksonville Police on the evening of March 21st at East Superior Avenue and South Clay. Purnell was a passenger in the vehicle. According to a sworn statement by officers, Purnell told police he had been staying at an area hotel and was going to be leaving Jacksonville in the next day or two. He did not say why he was in the area.
During the traffic stop, police searched the vehicle and found a suitcase reported to belong to Purnell containing approximately 226 grams of methamphetamine and approximately 16 grams of cocaine. The cocaine was said to have been in three separate packages.
During the investigation, officers also learned that Purnell was on pretrial release on an unknown felony charge out of DuPage County.
Cocaine possession and methamphetamine trafficking charges were dropped per the plea on Tuesday in Morgan County Court.
Purnell was sentenced to 8 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, 18 months of mandatory supervised release, ordered to pay a $500 fine. The court also ordered Purnell to be placed in a facility with mental health and substance abuse treatment. Purnell was given credit for 62 days served in the Morgan County Jail.