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Man sentenced to four years on marijuana delivery charges

BY TARA FASOL, The Southern

Friday, October 10, 2008 7:47 AM CDT

JOHNSON COUNTY — Thomas E. Nelson pleaded guilty this week to a charge of unlawful possession of marijuana with the intent to deliver and was sentenced to four years in the Illinois Department of Corrections with a one-year period of mandatory supervised release, according to the Johnson County state's attorney's office..

Nelson of Buncombe was the passenger in a vehicle stopped by a Johnson County deputy on Aug. 26. A drug activity investigation involving Nelson had been under law enforcement watch since May.

A deputy pulling over the vehicle detected a strong odor of cannabis. Occupants in the vehicle told officers that the driver and Nelson had both been involved in drug activity while in the vehicle.

The driver of the vehicle failed a field sobriety test and a warrant of the vehicle was issued.

Scales and baggies containing cannabis residue were located in the vehicle. Four ounces of cannabis was also discovered following execution of the warrant.

According to a release by the sheriff’s department, Nelson admitted to officers that the driver of the vehicle, whose name was not disclosed in the release, took money from several individuals and drove to Kentucky where he purchased cannabis with the intent of giving the drugs to those people, although the traffic stop occurred prior to that transaction.