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Drug raid on Fairview Heights home nets 3 accused of selling pot near school

BY JENNIFER BOWEN - News-Democrat

A drug raid on a Fairview Heights home netted three people accused of selling marijuana within 1,000 feet of Pontiac School.

Law enforcement members of the Special Response Team executed a search warrant Wednesday on the home at 216 Elvira Drive. The team includes members from the St. Clair County Sheriff's Department and the Belleville Police Department.

The warrant was issued as a result of an investigation conducted by the St. Clair County Drug Tactical Unit.

"During the execution of the search warrant, three people were taken into custody and cannabis and weapons were located inside the residence," said Sgt. William Kenny, supervisor of the St. Clair County Drug Tactical Unit. "Several neighbors stood in their front yards and applauded as the suspects were escorted from the residence."

The names of the arrested individuals have not been released by police pending charges from the St. Clair County state's attorney. They remain in custody in the St. Clair County Jail.

On Feb. 27, the team raided a Cahokia home at 2020 Delores St. and arrested two people who have been under investigation for nearly a month for selling controlled substances.

"During the execution of the search warrant, two people were taken into custody and controlled substances were located inside the residence," Kenny said.

The case is under advisement at the St. Clair County state's attorney's office pending lab results of the substances found during the raid.

Contact reporter Jennifer Bowen at jbowen@bnd.com or 239-2667.

Man charged in 1999 murder is returned to Utah

10 charges » Prosecutors to proceed with case

By Lindsay Whitehurst

The Salt Lake Tribune

Posted: 03/01/2009 05:51:01 PM MST

Donald Younge

A man charged with killing University of Utah drama student Amy Quinton nine years ago has been returned to Utah to face murder charges.

Donald E. Younge Jr., 42, had been in an Illinois jail awaiting trial in connection with the murders of three women there. But those charges were dropped after questions arose about a crime lab technician in the case, said Alicia Cook, a spokeswoman for the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office.

"There was a question about that person's honesty," she said. The case also was complicated when a woman who was expected to testify against Younge was found in 2004 stabbed to death in an unrelated case. After the charges were dismissed last month, Younge was ordered to stay in the St. Clair County jail, pending transfer to Utah, the Belleville News-Democrat reported. He was booked into the Salt Lake County jail on Saturday.

The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office filed 10 charges, including aggravated murder and burglary, against Younge in May Prosecutors did not say why they chose to file charges then, only that the case proceeded slowly because Quinton and her roommates did not know their attacker. He had been considered a suspect since at least 2002.

"We feel we'll be able to go forward," Cook said. "That's why we took the steps to bring him back. It's unfortunate the charges in Illinois were dismissed ... but we're glad to have the opportunity to bring closure to our cases."

She said she didn't know whether prosecutors would seek the death penalty.

According to charging documents, Younge broke into the apartment Quinton shared with two roommates near downtown Salt Lake City in August 1999. He held a knife to one woman's throat and when Quinton tried to call 911, he told police the call was a mistake.

He handed the three women a roll of duct tape and told them to tie themselves up, then took wallets and cash. He started to leave, then allegedly turned around and stabbed 22-year-old Quinton and one of her roommates. The other woman survived.

Younge also is charged with the 1996 rape of another University of Utah student.

lwhitehurst@sltrib.com