Quincy man gets 10-year federal prison sentence for intention to distribute substance containing heroin

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Derrick Phillips, 42, of Quincy was sentenced on April 10, 2023, to 10 years in prison, to be followed by eight years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of a substance containing heroin.

At a sentencing hearing in front of U.S. District Judge Colleen R. Lawless, the government proffered evidence that in October 2017, Phillips was detained after getting off an Amtrak train that had just arrived in Quincy from the Chicago area. Law enforcement then discovered almost 200 grams of heroin and $730 in cash on his person. 

Phillips was arrested in March 2019 and pleaded guilty in December 2022. He has been detained by the U.S. Marshal’s Service since his arrest. 

Because Phillips had a previous federal conviction for distributing controlled substances, the statutory penalties for possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of a substance containing heroin were not less than 10 years and up to life in prison, not more than an $8 million fine and not less than eight years of supervised release.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Springfield Field Office, the West Central Illinois Task Force and the Quincy Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Z. Weir represented the government in the prosecution.