A 46-year-old Centralia man released from custody while awaiting sentencing on a Class 1 felony drug charge is now back in custody facing a new drug offense.
Centralia Police arrested Christopher Taulbee of West 3rd Street on an Illinois Department of Corrections parole violation warrant on Tuesday. While being booked into the Marion County Jail, a baggie of what appeared to be methamphetamine dropped from his pants while a correctional officer was patting him down. Taulbee allegedly lunged toward the package on the floor in what appeared to be an effort to eat the package.
As a result of the incident, Taulbee was formally charged in Marion County Court on Wednesday with possession of under five grams of methamphetamine.
Taulbee had just been released last week from jail on $50,000 personal recognizance bond after entering a partially negotiated plea to a charge of possession of between 15 and 100 grams of meth. Prosecutors agreed to cap their recommended sentence at the August 2nd sentencing hearing to ten years in prison. A Class X charge of delivery of between 15 and 100 grams of methamphetamine was dropped as part of the plea.
The release on the recognizance bond was agreed upon as part of a negotiated plea. Judge Mark Stedelin set bond on the new meth charge at $75,000. Taulbee had a public defender appointed to represent him.
