Robert Connelly The Register-Mail RConnelly_

GALESBURG — A Galesburg man took a plea deal this week with the anticipation of going to prison boot camp.

Jason M. Harrold, 31, Fulton Street and at one point of Alton, pleaded guilty to felony possession of meth manufacturing materials Thursday morning before Circuit Judge Paul Mangieri.

For that plea, Harrold had a slew of other charges dismissed, including three Class X felony meth offenses along with an entire stolen firearm case.

He will either be accepted into the impact incarceration program — boot camp — or serve his five-year sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Harrold was given credit for 205 days already served in the Knox County jail and the sentence would be served at 50 percent.

That means, if he is not accepted into boot camp, he would actually serve nearly two years in prison.

Harrold was one of four people arrested in a North Cedar Street home last March where an active one-pot meth lab was found in the basement. He pleaded guilty to possessing coffee filters, camp fuel and sulfuric acid Thursday, which were all also found in the basement.

Harrold is the second of the four arrested in the house to end up with an IDOC sentence. Co-defendant Nicholas M. Hennenfent, 26, U.S. Highway 150 East, received a 6 1/2-year sentence in November.

Shaina A. Links, 31, Abingdon, also charged in the case, is currently in drug court. Frank C. Theobald, 65, North Cedar Street, is the only co-defendant to have his case still pending and is set to return to court for a pretrial hearing on Feb. 2.

In other court news Thursday, a California man charged with bringing nearly 23 pounds of cannabis on an Amtrak train through Galesburg in November received probation in a plea deal.

Sing Sengon, 60, Sacramento, California, pleaded guilty to felony possession of cannabis more than 5,000 grams before Mangieri Thursday. One pound is about 454 grams.

Sengon had two Class X felonies related to delivery of cannabis dismissed in the plea deal. He was sentenced to serve 48 months of probation, allowed to reside in California and will serve about 19 more days in the Knox County jail. The California man was given credit for 71 days already served in the county jail.

Additionally, Sengon was ordered to pay $104,107 in court costs and fines, including a $100,000 street value fine. Knox County Assistant State's Attorney Brian Kerr said in court Thursday that the 22.98 pounds of cannabis in Sengon's luggage was "high grade."

 

Robert Connelly: (309) 343-7181, ext. 266; rconnelly@register-mail.com; @RConnelly_