WEST FRANKFORT RESIDENT SENTENCED ON FEDERAL METH CHARGES AS COURT
HEARS STORY OF FATHER'S INFLUENCE

A large southern Illinois methamphetamine case has put several local
individuals behind bars and Friday morning a West Frankfort resident
and FCHS graduate was the latest to be sentenced in connection with
the conspiracy case. Rebecca Spann, 21, of West Frankfort was
arrested on methamphetamine charges several months ago after she
chose not to continue cooperating with law enforcement officials in
obtaining information on several additional individuals involved in a
large-scale methamphetamine production and delivery investigation.

Spann's mother took the stand Friday morning and told the court her
daughter was an "A and B student" and participated in "volleyball,
basketball, and cheerleading," while in attendance at St. John's
Catholic School in West Frankfort.

"She served in Sunday mass and she did chores for the nuns," her
mother told defense attorney Terry Green. "She was very good. She was
a good daughter." Green went through the play-by-play of Spann's life
events, which eventually led to her arrest on charges of conspiracy
to distribute methamphetamine.

Spann's mother said her daughter remained an "exemplary" student and
citizen through attendance at an all girl's catholic school and also
upon return to West Frankfort where she finished her high school
education at Frankfort Community High School. Spann's mother said it
was only after she turned 18-years-old and her father, Wendell Spann,
convinced her to move in with him, that Spann began spiraling into a
life filled with what her mother described as uncharacteristic bad decisions.

Wendell has been convicted on methamphetamine related charges and was
sentenced to 18-years in the state penitentiary.

It was prior to his arrest that the father convinced Spann to move in
with him and allegedly began to influence her behavior and
experimentation with drug abuse.

"18-months later she was in federal court," Spann's mother explained
about the time period that elapsed between Spann's decision to move
in with her father and her subsequent arrest.

After the arrest of Wendell and Spann's own arrest, she was let out
on pre-trial release and moved back to West Frankfort to live with her mother.

"She's complied with everything," her mother said about probation requirements.

Green asked the mother why Spann chose to discontinue cooperation
with law enforcement, which voided her no arrest in return for
information agreement with state and federal officials.

"A certain officer kept calling the house," her mother said. "And, I
told that officer not to call anymore."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Leggans represented the government in the
case against Spann and said he was not pushing for the harshest of
punishment in the case, due to the circumstances of Spann's
manipulation into the methamphetamine world -- by her father.

"One of the evils with meth is that sometimes it ensnares good
people," Leggans said.

The Assistant U.S. Attorney said Spann was, "ensnared by one of the
people that should have loved her the most."

Leggans recapped the cooperation problem between Spann and the
government explaining that Spann did agree to cooperate in obtaining
information on several other individuals, in return for not being
arrested, but then failed to continue that cooperation.

"There came a point, for whatever reason, that she quit cooperating,"
he said. "This is a sad case."

Green once again stood before Honorable Judge J. Phil Gilbert and
explained that extenuating circumstances which Spann fell victim to,
did not merit her placement in the federal prison system.

"In 25-years this case has bothered me more than any other case that
I've had," Green said. "I don't say that lightly."

The defense attorney said Spann's involvement in the volatile
substance was due in part to both the "sins of the mother and the
sins of the father."

"She was let down by the man she should have most trusted," Green said.

Through the course of the trial Green explained that Spann had never
been in trouble with the law before moving in with her father and
witnessing him using and abusing meth.

After living in those conditions she also became a meth user and was
then forced into a life of manufacturing and distributing the drug as well.

"We do advise the court she does understand the seriousness of the
offense," Green said. "I just hate to see this young woman go off to
the penitentiary."

Before Gilbert passed sentencing on Spann the judge offered her the
opportunity to approach the court and speak on her own behalf.

"It has been about 2 years since my arrest," she said.

Spann said during that time she has not had any trouble with the law
and has lived an "exemplary life."

"To go to federal prison at this point would be almost like
back-tracking," she said. "I think I have proven myself as a law
abiding citizen."

Gilbert asked Spann why she chose to begin using methamphetamine.

"He (father) used it around me and I argued with him about it," she
said. "It was almost like I wanted to prove him wrong. Then, I was wrong."

"So you took a hit and what did it do to you?" Gilbert asked.

"That was it," Spann answered. "It had total power."

"This meth is an epidemic isn't it?" the judge asked.

"You can have everything going for you," Spann explained tearfully.
"People need to know that they are not invisible. I do think the laws
that have been put in place will help a lot."

Spann said she believes the public needs more education at a younger
age to understand fully the negative effects associated with
methamphetamine use.

"Everybody needs to hear this," she said.

As Gilbert reflected up his decision to sentence he told Spann he did
understand the complications of her situation.

"This is a very tough situation," he said. "But, the law is the law
and you realize that."

Spann is currently in the nursing program at Rend Lake College and as
part of her sentenced Gilbert stayed her incarceration until she
finishes the semester, at which point she will begin serving the
46-month sentence.

"I'm going to do something I don't do very often," the judge said.

Spann is going to be placed on house arrest with a monitoring ankle
bracelet until her incarceration in the penitentiary begins.

An appeal for a lesser sentence is still available to Spann but
Gilbert said even if that appeal is filed he will be seeking "some"
time in the prison system.

"There will be some incarceration," he said.