TERRE HAUTE —
A Clay County man has received a 15-year sentence in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to deal methamphetamine in the Wabash Valley.
Timothy Cheatham, 47, of Brazil, was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2010. He was sentenced recently by U.S. District Judge William T. Lawrence after consideration of a plea agreement submitted in the spring.
U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Hogsett was in Terre Haute on Thursday afternoon to announce the sentencing of Cheatham, and also gave an update on a related drug conspiracy case that remains pending in federal court.
“This prosecution is just one example of how effective law enforcement efforts can be when we work as a team,” Hogsett said. “This particular defendant terrorized his community for years, and now he won’t walk the streets anywhere in the Wabash Valley again for a long, long time.”
Hogsett said the case against Cheatham was made more clear after undercover agents made purchases of methamphetamine from Ronald Ingalls, who sold meth for Cheatham. Soon after, agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration and deputies from the Clay County Sheriff’s Department executed search warrants at both Cheatham’s residence and the residence of his father in Reelsville. Seized were meth, digital scales, packaging materials, as well as $76,167 in drug proceeds. The money seized has been forfeited, and will now be processed before returning to Clay County to be reinvested in local law enforcement efforts, Hogsett said.
Following Cheatham’s release from federal prison, he also must serve five years on supervised release, and pay a $1,000 fine.
Meanwhile, Ingalls already has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his participation in the drug trafficking ring.
In February, eighteen people were indicted on federal drug charges as the result of a multi-agency investigation of a methamphetamine distribution network in Vigo, Clay and Putnam counties.
Hogsett said that some of the evidence in the case against Cheatham and Ingalls was helpful in building the case against the 18 defendants. Among those defendants are one of Cheatham’s brothers as well as his wife.
All 18 defendants were charged with conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and distributing methamphetamine. Jury trial dates remain set for all 18 defendants, and no guilty pleas have been submitted in that case, Hogsett said.
Reporter Lisa Trigg can be reached at 812-231-4254 or lisa.trigg@tribstar.com. Follow her on Twitter @TribStarLisa.
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