Arizona man who used two Quincy women as drug couriers sentenced to 15 years for distributing meth

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Christopher Harris, 44, of Goodyear, Ariz., was sentenced on Thursday, Sept. 19, to 180 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in central Illinois.

At the sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge Colleen R. Lawless, the government presented evidence that Harris recruited two women in Quincy in January 2017 to serve as drug couriers. In exchange, Harris agreed to pay them $5,000.

As part of the agreement, the two women drove to Arizona and picked up controlled substances from Harris. They then planned to drive the drugs back to Quincy, where Harris would retrieve the drugs from them after flying from Arizona to Illinois. Ultimately, Harris provided them with 11 pounds of methamphetamine and one pound of cocaine. The pair, however, were arrested while still in Arizona.

Judge Lawless found Harris served as the leader of the conspiracy, and Harris was a career offender based upon his criminal history, which included three prior felony drug convictions. 

The statutory penalties for distributing methamphetamine are up to life imprisonment, up to a $10 million fine and up to a life term of supervised release. 

This case was investigated by the West Central Illinois Task Force, Illinois State Police, Quincy Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration and the Apache County (Ariz.) Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanner K. Jacobs represented the government in the prosecution.