California man charged with transporting 13,000 grams of cocaine through metro-east
A California man is facing felony drug-trafficking charges in Madison County for allegedly driving through the metro-east on Interstate 70 with more than 13,000 grams of cocaine in his car.
That could be worth $780,000 to $2.6 million based on prevailing street prices for the drug.
One of two charges against Richard J. Davis, 58, of San Clemente, California, is punishable by up to 120 years in prison, according to a press release from State’s Attorney Tom Haine’s office.
“Major drug-trafficking corrodes the rule of law and puts lives at risk, as these sentencing ranges reflect,” he stated. “Law enforcement agencies in Madison County and the State’s Attorney’s Office take these crimes very seriously.
“We will prosecute them aggressively, seeking appropriate sentences and, when applicable, seeking the forfeiture of any property that was derived from or used in the commission of such activity.”
Haine’s office filed petitions seeking forfeiture of Davis’s 2022 BMW X4 and asking for pretrial detention.
Illinois State Police pulled over Davis on Interstate 70 near Pocahontas on Feb. 19, the press release stated. The Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southwestern Illinois, a regional drug task force, helped with the investigation.
Davis is charged with one Class X felony count of controlled substance trafficking for allegedly using a motor vehicle to bring 900 or more grams of cocaine into Illinois. The sentencing range is 30 to 120 years in prison.
Davis also is charged with one Class X felony count of possession with intent to deliver 900 or more grams of cocaine. That charge is punishable by 15 to 60 years in prison.
Street prices for cocaine range from $60 to $200 a gram in the United States, depending on purity, location and other factors, according to the website of Zinnia Health drug-treatment centers.
Police also seized more than $1,500 in cash from Davis’s vehicle. He was being held at the Madison County Jail on Friday afternoon. A hearing for pretrial detention is set for Monday.
“I commend ISP and MEGSI for their continued work to take dangerous drugs off the street,” Haine stated.
