Drug dogs from the U.S. Postal Service detected possible drugs in a package en route to Kewanee in December of 2022. The Kewanee Police Department was notified that a package possibly containing drugs was headed to the Kewanee Post Office. Kewanee Police conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle after it left the post office with the package on West Central Blvd. on December 21, 2022. The box from the post office contained approximately three ounces, or 90 grams, of cocaine. Investigators located scales, packaging materials, and $926 in cash from a search warrant that was executed at a residence in the 300 block of West Oak Street as part of the investigation. Jeffery Cerda, 27, of Kewanee, pleaded guilty to Possession of 15<100 grams of Cocaine in an open plea on March 19, 2024. There is a cap of six years in prison with the plea deal. Cerda will be screened for electronic home monitoring. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 10, 2024, at 1 PM.
Cerga was originally charged with Possession of 15<100 Grams of Cocaine (Class 1 Felony) and Manufacture/Deliver 15<100 Grams of Cocaine (Class X Felony).
