Kenneth W. Perkins, 56, of Catawissa has been sentenced to 10 years in prison following a felony drug trafficking charge and a probation violation, court records show.
In December 2009, Perkins was a passenger in a vehicle pulled over for speeding on Hwy. O west of Pacific, and he was found with a large amount of cash and two cell phones in his pockets. He also was found with a plastic bag filled with crack cocaine and told police it was his, the probable-cause statement said.
He pleaded guilty to second-degree drug trafficking and in March 2012, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. However, Perkins was released in May 2013 after completing a treatment program, the sentence was suspended and he got five years’ probation, court papers indicate.
He violated the probation, though, and on June 10, Jefferson County Div. 3 Circuit Judge Nathan B. Stewart executed the 10-year sentence.
Jefferson County assistant prosecuting attorney Trisha C. Stefanski handled the case.
Another defendant, Lorie Ann Noll, who was born in 1964 and resides in Catawissa, was driving the vehicle in 2009 when Perkins was arrested for drug trafficking. Noll was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance, misdemeanor DWI and traffic violations. After pleading guilty to the charges, she was sentenced in October 2011 to five years in prison, but the sentence was suspended and she got five years’ probation, according to court documents.
Perkins previously was convicted on felony drug charges stemming from an October 2002 incident in Franklin County and on felony assault by driving while intoxicated charges tied to a February 2002 incident in Jefferson County, court records show.
He currently is in the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre.