SHELBY COUNTY, Ill. (WAND)- A Flora man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the unlawful manufacture of drugs with a prior drug conviction.
Shelby County State’s Attorney Nichole Kroncke sentenced Nicholas V. Barfield, 42, of Flora, to fifteen years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for the offense of unlawful participation of methamphetamine manufacture with prior unlawful possession of methamphetamine conviction, a Class X Felony.
Barfield was also sentenced to a concurrent six-year prison term for the offense of aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer, and will be required to serve 75% of his fifteen-year sentence.
According to officials, Barfield was arrested on January 14, 2021 after sheriff’s deputies attempted a traffic stop. Barfield’s vehicle fled south-bound on 750 East Road in Herrick, Illinois.
Police say his vehicle exited the roadway and traveled through a field, hitting a ditch and disabling both headlights, before re-entering the roadway and traveled east to the Tower Hill Blacktop, traveling north.
Authorities report the vehicle eventually crashed into a guardrail, then traveled 100 yards off the roadway into a field before becoming stuck.
Barfield, then proceeded to exit his vehicle and flee on foot.
Assisted by K-9 Kilo, sheriff’s deputies were able to track Barfield to a near-by wooded area where he was located laying on his stomach in a creek.
Police say, Barfield resisted arrest and refused to identify himself.
After Barfield was placed in custody, police discovered a meth lab and a liquid substance which tested positive for methamphetamine inside Barfield’s vehicle.
Law enforcement determined the weight of the liquid containing methamphetamine to be 436.7 grams.
According to officials, Barfield has a 2004 Clay County conviction for possession of methamphetamine manufacturing chemicals for which he was sentenced to two years in the Department of Corrections.
In 2012, Barfield was once again sentenced to eight years in the Department of Corrections for Methamphetamine Manufacturing < 15 grams in Clay County, and 5 years in Illinois Department of Corrections for a Richland County possession of methamphetamine conviction.
Shelby County State’s Attorney Nichole Kroncke complimented the efforts of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office stating, “Shelby County deputies have once again, through diligent investigatory efforts and the dependable assistance of K-9 Kilo, removed a repeat methamphetamine trafficker from our community.”
Barfield has remained in the Shelby County Jail since his arrest. He will now be transferred to the Illinois Department of Corrections to commence his sentence.
