'Super' drug charge could bring long prison sentence

Super Class X felony.

If the charge, reserved for narcotics offenses doesn't send shivers down the spine of a defendant, the 60-year maximum sentence might.

Bartlett resident Marquis Gillespie faces both. Bartlett police charged the 33-year-old with felony possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver after they said they recovered 1,500 grams of cocaine along with $3,000, cannabis and drug paraphernalia following Tuesday's search of his home in the 2000 block of Norwich Lane.

A Cook County judge set Gillespie's bond at $500,000 following a hearing Wednesday in Rolling Meadows. If convicted, Gillespie faces 15 to 60 years in prison, said Assistant State's Attorney Jesse Opdycke. He would have to complete at least 85 percent of the sentence.

The cocaine had a street value of $450,000 said Bartlett police Sgt. Michael McGuigan, who described the bust one of the department's biggest. Neighbor complaints prompted the warrant, said McGuigan, who declined to elaborate on what those complaints involved. He did say that police have been called to that address on previous occasions.

Also arrested was Gillespie's 26-year-old fiance Alissa Malek. Malek, who lives with Gillespie, faces a misdemeanor charge of possession of cannabis. Information on Malek's bond was not available, but police said she posted bond and is set to appear in court March 6.

Gillespie was sentenced to seven years in the Illinois Department of Corrections in 2001 for possession of a controlled substance said Opdycke. Gillespie served about 31/2 years for that crime. He next appears in court March 12.