Three Felons Sentenced to Prison for Kankakee Drug and Firearms Offenses

Urbana, Ill. B Two men with prior felony convictions that designated them as career offenders, cousins Jermaine R. Speed and Rico J. Speed were sentenced today to 18 years in federal prison, and a third man, Charles D. Nance, was sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison, for illegal possession of firearms and distribution of crack cocaine, as announced by U.S. Attorney Jim Lewis, Central District of Illinois. The men have been in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since their arrests in September 2014.

 Jermaine R. Speed, 32, of the 900 block of Merchant Street, Kankakee, was ordered to serve 18 years (216 months) in prison. According to the government’s factual basis presented in court, between June 2010 and October 2011, Speed illegally sold crack cocaine to a confidential informant on four separate occasions. Speed has four prior felony drug convictions in Illinois.

 Rico J. Speed, 27, of the 1100 block of E. Court Street, Kankakee, a cousin of Jermaine Speed, was also sentenced to 18 years (216 months) in prison. From July of 2011 to February of 2013, Speed illegally sold four different firearms – a .38 caliber revolver, a .32 caliber revolver, a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol, and a .12 gauge shotgun – to a confidential informant, according to court records. During that same time frame, Rico Speed also sold the confidential informant over 28 grams of crack cocaine.  Speed has prior Illinois convictions for possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver and delivery of a controlled substance.

 Charles D. Nance, 42, of the 1400 block of N. 11th Avenue, Newton, Iowa, was ordered to serve 117 months (9 years, 9 months) in prison for drug and weapon charges. On two occasions, on August 6 and 25, 2010, Nance sold crack cocaine to a confidential informant, according to court documents.  At the time of the August 25 drug sale, Nance was armed with a 9 millimeter semi-automatic pistol. On September 9, 2010, agents seized the 9 millimeter pistol, as well as a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol and more than 100 rounds of ammunition, from Nance’s Kankakee apartment. Nance was ordered to forfeit the firearms and ammunition.  Nance has prior felony convictions for unlawful possession of a controlled substance, unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, and maintaining a drug house.

 The cases are the result of ongoing investigations related to gun violence in the Kankakee area by the Kankakee Area Project Safe Neighborhoods Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Kankakee Police Department.  The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene L. Miller. The Kankakee Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group, Chicago Police Department, Illinois State Police, and Kankakee County Corrections assisted with the initial arrests in September 2014.