Marseilles man gets 8 years for running gun-drug stash house

A Marseilles man accused of running a stash house stocked with guns and drugs pleaded guilty Thursday to multiple felonies and was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Brennen Lee Jorgenson, 28, appeared in La Salle County Circuit Court and entered a negotiated plea. He pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a Class X felony carrying six to 30 years with no possibility of probation.

He also pleaded guilty to three counts of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon. These include a pair of Class 2 felonies (three to seven years) for a pair of handguns seized from his residence and a Class X count for a Glock .40-caliber with an illegal auto switch that made it an automatic weapon.

In exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed to eight years on the Class X counts and seven years on the Class 2 counts. All guns and cash seized will be confiscated.

However, the sentences will run concurrently and Jorgenson is eligible for day-for-day good time. He also has 622 days’ credit for time served and for participating in various programs. A parole date has yet to be computed, but he could be freed as early as 2027.

Jorgenson declined an opportunity to address Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr.

Jorgenson was charged after a pair of seemingly unrelated search and seizures done in quick succession in December of 2023. Thomas J. Higgins, now 46, of Ottawa was stopped and searched after a confidential informant reported Higgins had an assault weapon and drugs. Police seized the reported contraband during an ensuing traffic stop.

An undercover drug agent said later in open court that the Higgins investigation led to the discovery of a “stash house” in Marseilles, later identified as Jorgenson’s residence. The twin arrests and yielded guns and $180,000 worth of illegal drugs.

Drug agents seized a grand total of eight firearms, 18 grams of cocaine, 26 pounds of purported psilocybin mushrooms (a La Salle County record), 54 pounds of purported cannabis flower, plus thousands of units of THC products.

Higgins pleaded guilty in May to felonies and was sentenced to 15 years. He will be paroled in early 2033.