Virden Man Sentenced to Decade in Prison on Meth Charges

By Benjamin Cox on June 7, 2023 at 7:52am

A Virden man will be serving a decade in prison on drug charges.

The Alton Telegraph reports that 53-year old Mark E. Garst as sentenced Tuesday by Macoupin County Judge Joshua A. Meyer to 10 years in prison for Class 1 felony methamphetamine possession and Class 2 felony methamphetamine possession with intent to deliver.

Garst was stopped in Virden on June 11, 2022 by Virden Police and initially tried to flee from police. Police reports say he was found to have more than 25 grams of methamphetamine in his possession at the time of his arrest.

Macoupin County State’s Attorney Jordan Garrison told the Telegraph that it was the second decade-long sentence for methamphetamine delivery in the last 45 days secured by investigation done by the Virden Police Department.