An Arizona man who was arrested on Interstate 72 last month for drug trafficking has been sentenced to serve time in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
36-year-old Talon L. Ashby of Somerton, Arizona pleaded guilty to a class 1 felony charge of unlawful possession of cannabis with intent to deliver in Morgan County Court Tuesday.
Ashby was arrested on October 31st during a traffic stop after a Morgan County Sheriff’s Deputy pulled over a Ford Econoline box truck in the east bounds lanes near mile marker 66 for speeding and display of an unreadable temporary license tag.
A subsequent search of the box truck resulted in the discovery of a reported 542 pounds of cannabis that had an approximate street value of more than $2 million, according to a report by Sheriff Mike Carmody at the time of the arrest.
The Morgan County State’s Attorney’s Office charged Ashby with class X felony cannabis trafficking for knowingly bringing more than 2,500 grams of cannabis into the state with intent to deliver into the state.
Ashby was also charged with class 1 felony unlawful possession of cannabis with intent to deliver. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge. The class X trafficking charge was dismissed per the plea.
Ashby was sentenced to four years in IDOC followed by one year of mandatory supervised release. He was given credit for 23 days served in the Morgan County Detention Facility.
He was also ordered to pay a $500.00 county fine plus fees and court costs.