On August 16, 2016, Associate Judge William Workman sentenced Ricky L. Gharrett pursuant to a fully negotiated plea agreement. The agreement sentenced Gharrett to 7 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections with a period of 2 years of mandatory supervised release (formerly known as parole) for one count of Unlawful Delivery of Controlled Substance within 1,000 feet of Real Property Comprising a School, a class 1 felony.

The case arose out of a May 2016 investigation conducted by Illinois State Police and the Lincoln Police Department. Working with a confidential source, law enforcement conducted a controlled purchase of less than 0.1 grams of heroin from Ricky Gharrett. The transaction occurred at 215 N. Butler Street, which is located less than 1,000 feet from Washington-Monroe School.