Murder suspect pleads guilty to drug count

EAST ST. LOUIS -- A man accused in the drive-by shooting death of a 12-year-old Madison County boy who was doing school work in his home has pleaded guilty to a federal drug charge.

Twenty-seven-year-old Marcus Powell of Pontoon Beach entered the pleas Thursday in East St. Louis to two cocaine-distribution counts. He faces five to 40 years in prison when sentenced May 29.

Powell also is charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and obstructing justice in the shooting last October that killed Delarrian Davis.

Police say the boy was doing homework when his home was sprayed by bullets coming from outside. A deputy coroner says the boy's body was found next to pencils and a notebook.

Investigators say Powell fired into the house perhaps intending to wound a man who was living with the boy's mother.