Two Portageville residents are sentenced to federal prison

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Two Portageville residents were sentenced to federal prison for distributing methamphetamine.

On Thursday, Clarence L. Hicks, 46, was sentenced to serve 60 months in federal prison following his guilty plea to distributing methamphetamine.

The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr. at the federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

At his guilty plea hearing earlier this year, Hicks admitted that he sold a quantity of methamphetamine to an informant working with the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force in September 2019.

At the time of the sale, Hicks was on parole supervision following his early release from the Missouri Department of Corrections for various state drug-related convictions.

The federal 60-month sentence was ordered to run consecutively to the balance of Hicks’ state sentences. Hicks will then be placed on supervised release for three years once the sentences are completed.

This case was investigated by the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force and the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Assistant United States Attorney Jack Koester handled the prosecution for the government.

Also Thursday, Limbaugh sentenced Courtney Williams to 60 months in federal prison for methamphetamine charges.

The 46-year-old Portageville, Missouri, resident pleaded guilty in June 2021, to four counts of distribution of methamphetamine.

During July, August and September 2018, on four occasions in New Madrid County, Williams sold a total of over 150 grams of methamphetamine to an individual cooperating with law enforcement officers.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force.

Assistant United States Attorney Paul W. Hahn handled the prosecution for the government.