Three Flora Men Indicted on Federal Drug Charges

Three men from Flora have been indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with methamphetamine-related offenses, Steven D. Weinhoeft, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today.

Ethan K. Doud, 28, Bradley A. Caudle, 30, and Justin A. Schofield, 37, are accused of conspiring to distribute 50 grams or more of crystal methamphetamine (known as “ice”) in Clay County and elsewhere. According to the indictment, the conspiracy operated from the fall of 2017 until late January of this year.

Doud is also charged with possessing with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of crystal methamphetamine on January 6 of this year.

Elsewhere in the seven-count indictment, Schofield is charged with distributing methamphetamine on four separate dates in 2018 and with possessing with the intent to distribute methamphetamine on October 22, 2018.

If convicted, the conspiracy count exposes all three defendants to a possible punishment of 10 years to life imprisonment, up to a $10,000,000 fine, and supervised release of not less than five years. Doud’s additional charge carries the same penalties, while Schofield could receive as much as 20 years imprisonment and a $1,000,000 fine on each of the five additional counts in which he is named.

The investigation of this case was conducted by the Flora Police Department, the Clay County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, the Richland County Sheriff’s Office, and the Southeastern Illinois Drug Task Force.