A Cuba, Missouri man was sentenced on October 13, 2023, to ten years in federal prison consisting of 5 years imprisonment for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and five years imprisonment for possessing a firearm during and in furtherance of a drug crime.  65-year-old Raymond Toth was sentenced by United States District Judge Colleen R. Lawless, who ordered that Toth also serve four years of supervised release after completing his prison sentence. 

Evidence presented at the sentencing hearing showed that Toth brought large amounts of methamphetamine from Missouri to Taylorville for others to distribute in central Illinois.  Toth was responsible for helping to distribute nearly 8 pounds of pure meth. Toth also possessed a 9mm handgun when he was arrested in a Pana parking lot with 756 grams of methamphetamine. 

Toth was indicted in June 2018 and pleaded guilty in June 2023. He has been detained and is in the custody of the United States Marshal since May 24, 2018. Toth’s co-defendants Randy Hammond, Macy Sweitzer, and Claudette Borders were previously sentenced for their roles in the conspiracy, and co-defendant Jesse Stoldorf is scheduled to be sentenced on October 20, 2023.

The statutory penalties for conspiracy to distribute five grams or more of actual methamphetamine are not less than five and up to forty years imprisonment, up to a $5,000,000 fine, and up to a life term of supervised release. The penalties for possessing a firearm during and in furtherance of a drug crime are up to life imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to five years of supervised release.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Springfield Resident Office; the Illinois State Police; the Christian County, Illinois, Sheriff’s Office; the Taylorville, Illinois, Police Department; and the Pana, Illinois, Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Z. Weir represented the government in the prosecution.