Peru man ordered held on $500K after buy-bust operation

A Peru man was ordered to be held on $500,000 bond Friday after police said he sold heroin to an undercover agent – and while he was awaiting trial on a Tazewell County gun case.

Justin C. Cornelison, 29, formerly of Angola, New York, was charged with unlawful delivery of a controlled substance (heroin) during a buy-bust operation at 5:44 p.m. Thursday in the 2900 block of Fourth Street, Peru, the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Narcotics Team said in a news release.

Cornelison allegedly sold less than 1 gram of heroin to an undercover agent.

The charge is a Class 2 felony carrying a sentencing range of three to seven years in prison if convicted. However, prosecutors said Cornelison has a pending weapons charge, also a Class 2 felony, pending in Tazewell County. By law, crimes committed while out on bond make the defendant eligible for back-to-back prison sentences; Cornelison could end up serving six to 14 years if convicted in both counties.