Savoy man pleads guilty in drug cases, sentenced to probation

URBANA — A Savoy man was sentenced to probation Wednesday for his pleas in two separate cases to drug possession.

Richard L. Howard, 42, whose last known address was in the 900 block of Meadow View Court, pleaded guilty in November to possession of a controlled substance, admitting in one case that he had less than a gram of heroin on him in Savoy on Feb. 2, 2011, and that on May 10, 2010, he had less than a gram of cocaine on him when stopped by police near Curtis Road and Prospect Avenue in Savoy.

Judge Tom Difanis sentenced Howard to 30 months of probation.

Court records show he had two previous drug convictions from 1998 and 2005. As part of his plea in the 2011 case, a more serious charge alleging he was an armed habitual criminal was dismissed.