Illinois man gets 12 years for selling heroin

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) - Prosecutors say an Alton man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for selling heroin to a man that later resulted in his death.

The U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of Illinois says Glenn Lowers pleaded guilty in November to a federal charge of distribution of heroin resulting in death. Lowers admitted at his plea hearing in U.S. District Court in East St. Louis that he sold heroin to Joshua Shelton in 2013.

The attorney's office says a family member later discovered Shelton's body at his residence. An autopsy found Shelton died from injecting heroin.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1GmvHKI ) reports a U.S. attorney said prosecutors want to send a message to drug dealers that they risk a severe prison sentence when they sell heroin.

___

Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com