Dixon man sentenced to 10 years in prison for selling meth

DIXON – A Dixon man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to delivering methamphetamine.

James L. Ballard, 47, pleaded guilty April 3 in Lee County Circuit Court to delivery of methamphetamine, between 15 and 100 grams, a Class X felony, and was sentenced to 10 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Ballard was charged July 1, 2024, after a search warrant served one day earlier at 320 S. Canal Drive in rural Dixon resulted in Ballard being charged with several narcotics offenses.

Along with delivery of methamphetamine between 15 and 100 grams, Ballard also was charged with delivery of methamphetamine, between 100 and 400 grams, a Class X felony; delivery of methamphetamine, between 5 and 15 grams, a Class 1 felony; and possession of methamphetamine, between 15 and 100 grams, a Class 1 felony. The latter three charges were dismissed as part of a plea deal. He was given credit for 277 days served.

Ballard’s plea comes less than two months after the state appellate court upheld a Lee County Circuit Court decision to keep Ballard in jail under the Pretrial Fairness Act, known as the SAFE-T Act.

Ballard, who had appealed the trial court’s July 2024 order denying his motion for relief from pretrial detention, argued the court erred when finding he posed a threat to the community because prosecutors did not contend he posed a threat of committing a violent crime.

The case history

According to appellate court documents, when Ballard was charged with the four meth counts, prosecutors filed a petition to deny his pretrial release. A hearing on the petition was held July 1, 2024. At that detention hearing, prosecutors proffered a probable cause affidavit that showed a confidential informant contacted the Lee County Sheriff’s Office to tell them the informant had purchased methamphetamine from Ballard on June 14, 2024.

According to that affidavit, Lee County deputies arranged for the informant to perform a controlled purchase. On June 21, 2024, the informant met with Ballard at 320 S. Canal Drive in Dixon and bought 8.8 grams of methamphetamine for $150 using Cash App, according to court documents.

Similarly, on June 28, 2024, the informant purchased 33.69 grams of methamphetamine for $600, according to court documents. Ballard was subsequently arrested.

On June 30, 2024, deputies executed a search warrant at Ballard’s residence at 320 S. Canal Drive, where they located 101 grams of methamphetamine in the closet and 8 grams under a table in his bedroom. An additional 82 grams of methamphetamine were located elsewhere in the residence. Deputies noted during the search that two televisions displayed surveillance of the exterior of the residence, according to court documents.

Prosecutors during the detention hearing also proffered the pretrial services report, which showed Ballard had multiple prior convictions for drug-related offenses. In 2002, he was convicted of a drug offense for which he received four years’ probation and jail. However, in 2005, his probation was revoked, and he was sentenced to four years of boot camp through the Illinois Department of Corrections.

In 2018, Ballard was convicted of delivering methamphetamine and possession of a weapon by a felon and sentenced to eight years in prison. The Virginia Pretrial Risk Assessment Instrument-Revised scored Ballard as a 13 out of 14, which is considered high risk, according to appellate court documents. The risk assessment noted his specific risk factors to be that he was already under “community supervision” with pending charges for jailable offenses, he had two or more prior violent offense convictions, and he had a history of drug abuse.

Prosecutors contended Ballard’s criminal history and risk assessment supported their argument that he posed a real and present threat to the safety of the community.

But Ballard testified he did not have any pending criminal cases in Whiteside County, was not on parole or probation at the time of his arrest and would comply with any conditions of pretrial release, including counseling, electronic monitoring, and random drug testing.

The trial court stated it had considered the evidence presented, the probable cause affidavit, the pretrial services report and defendant’s criminal history. Regarding his criminal history, the court noted Ballard’s probation was revoked in 2005; his court supervision was revoked in 2011; and his probation was revoked in 2013. At the time of the June 2024 offense, the court noted Ballard was on pretrial release for Lee County cases for which he had posted bond and had been ordered not to violate any statute. Lastly, the court noted his high-risk assessment.

The court found that Ballard posed a real and present threat to the community, and no conditions of pretrial release could mitigate the threat he posed. The court granted the state’s petition to deny his pretrial release.

Ballard, while still represented by counsel, filed a motion for relief Nov. 1, 2024, arguing the state failed to present articulable facts to show he was a real and present threat to any people or the community.

On Nov. 21, 2024, the trial court accepted Ballard’s waiver of his right to an attorney and permitted him to represent himself. A hearing on Ballard’s motion was held on Nov. 26, 2024. Ballard noted his detention order was pursuant to the dangerousness standard and asked, “Who – who’s the danger – who am I a danger to?”

The state responded by saying that a defendant with a history of selling large amounts of controlled substances posed a real and present threat to the community because of the “well established” societal harm of drug use. The trial court denied Ballard’s motion for release, which led him to appeal to the appellate court.

On appeal, Ballard argued the trial court erred when finding he posed a threat to the community because the state did not contend he posed a threat of committing a violent crime. He argued there was no evidence presented that any drug sales by him were associated with violence or the risk of violence.

Furthermore, even if the court believed Ballard was likely to commit a future nonviolent offense, he was entitled, pursuant to the code, to be given pretrial release with an opportunity to comply with pretrial release conditions, he said.

The appellate court ruling filed Feb. 25, 2025, upheld the state’s court 2024 decision to detain Ballard, finding Ballard was charged with a detainable offense and the proof was evident or presumption great that he committed the offense, posed a real and present threat to the community, and that no conditions or combination of conditions could mitigate the real and present threat.