CLAY COUNTY — A 49-year-old Marion County man was sentenced Tuesday in federal court to 14-years in prison on charges related to Alpha-Pyrrolidinopentiophenone (Alpha-PVP) also known as “bath salts”, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Donald S. Boyce, announced Wednesday..

Dennis R. Thacker, Jr., of Alma, Illinois, was sentenced to 168 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Thacker, Jr., previously plead guilty to three counts in a federal Indictment.

Count 1 charged that from 2016, until on or about December 2017, in Clay County and Marion County, and elsewhere, Thacker, Jr., conspired to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, Alpha-PVP, a Schedule I controlled substance, in violation of federal law.

Count 2 charged that on June 2, 2017, in Clay County, Thacker, Jr., distributed a mixture or substance containing Alpha-PVP and Count 3 charged that on June 2, 2017, in Marion County, Thacker, Jr., possessed with the intent to distribute a mixture or substance containing Alpha-PVP.

The investigation was conducted by the Flora Police Department, the Southeastern Illinois Drug Task Force, and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.