Seized 2 pounds of cocaine gets La Salle man 15 years in prison

Last fall, police intercepted a package containing more than 2 pounds of cocaine. Now, the recipient is headed to prison for 15 years.

Luis Y. Quinones-Pereira, 27, of La Salle appeared Friday in La Salle County Circuit Court and pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, a Class X felony carrying six to 30 years in prison with no possibility of probation.

In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dismissed two additional counts, including firearm possession, and stipulated to a volume of cocaine that kept him from serving many more years in prison.

“I just want to thank God first,” Quinones-Pereira said when offered a chance to speak, “and I want to apologize to the state of Illinois and to my family.”

Quinones-Pereira was charged in October 2023 after agents with the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Narcotics Team – assisted by the La Salle County Sheriff’s Office, La Salle Police Department, Ottawa Police Department and U.S. Postal Inspectors Office – tracked a suspicious package mailed from Puerto Rico.

Although the package was addressed to a woman, police determined that Quinones-Pereira was the intended recipient. Police at the time listed the weight at 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds), and a search warrant yielded packaging materials and other evidence of intent to distribute.

Quinones-Pereira was at one point facing a 20-year minimum sentence, of which he’d have to serve 75%, but Friday’s plea makes him eligible for day-for-day good time. He could be released in late 2031 or early 2032.

Open-court statements indicated that Quinones-Pereira had no previous criminal history, had provided statements to police and expressed remorse. Additionally, Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. entered a finding that the crime was committed as the result of addiction or abuse, making Quinones-Pereira eligible for treatment in the Department of Corrections.