From the U.S. Attorney:
Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Federal Prison for Coordinating Hundreds of Meth Shipments from California to Chicago
CHICAGO — A man has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for coordinating more than 200 shipments of methamphetamine from California to Chicago.
In 2022 and 2023, KEITH R. MCCORMICK mailed more than 200 parcels—each containing a pound of 90-100% pure methamphetamine—from his residence in Sacramento, Calif., to individuals in Chicago.
Many of the parcels were addressed to co-conspirators who arranged for the sale of the drugs on the streets.
The illicit proceeds were then shipped back to McCormick in California.
McCormick, 54, was arrested in March 2023. He pleaded guilty last year to a drug conspiracy charge.
On Feb. 10, 2026, U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang imposed the 14-year prison sentence and fined McCormick $25,000.
McCormick was one of six defendants charged with drug conspiracy as part of this investigation.
Four co-conspirators, all of whom resided in Chicago, pleaded guilty and were previously sentenced as follows:
- STEPHEN R. JENKINS, 46: 14 years in prison.
- DANIEL HEISE, 43: 12 years in prison.
- DONALD W. GRENIER, JR., 64: four years in prison.
- JOSE HERNANDEZ, 48: four years in prison.
The fifth alleged co-conspirator—WILLIAM F. KOCH, 38, of Chicago—died in 2024, prompting the government to dismiss the charges against him.
McCormick’s sentence and the results of the investigation were announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Mary T. Johnson, Acting Inspector-in-Charge of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Todd C. Smith, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the DEA, Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI, and Larry Snelling, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California; Homeland Security Task Forces (HSTF) in Chicago and Sacramento; the USPIS High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force —Parcel Interdiction Regional Enforcement Team in Chicago; USPIS and Homeland Security Investigations Field Offices in Sacramento; and the North Riverside, Ill. Police Department. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elly Moheb.
