Methamphetamine Dealer Sentenced to 188 Months in Prison

CAPE GIRARDEAU - U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Wednesday sentenced a methamphetamine dealer to 188 months in prison.

Marcus M. Nelson, 42, of Cairo, Illinois pleaded guilty in March in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to two counts of distributing methamphetamine. He admitted selling meth on two occasions to a confidential informant who told Drug Enforcement Administration agents about past purchases of multiple ounces of meth from Nelson. On July 10, 2023, Nelson sold 157 grams of meth for $1,600 to the informant at a Cape Girardeau home. On July 16, 2023, he sold 446 grams, or nearly one pound, of meth for a downpayment of $2,500 and a later payment of $700 more.

Nelson's sentence will run consecutive to any prison sentence he receives for violating his parole on a robbery conviction. Nelson was sentenced to 140 months in prison after a 2001 conviction for conspiracy to distribute and distribution of cocaine base in the Southern District of Illinois.

The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Willis prosecuted the case.