Man sentenced for role in Naperville Ecstasy sale
BY BILL BIRD wbird@stmedianetwork.com November 27, 2012 7:04PM
Devante R. Murphy, 19, of Chicago, was one of three men arrested following a narcotics investigation by Naperville police. | Courtesy of Naperville Police
Updated: December 29, 2012 6:33AM
The first of three men arrested last summer in an Ecstasy sting operation conducted by Naperville police has been convicted in that case.
As a condition of his sentence, Devante R. Murphy will be expected to testify against at least one of his associates when their cases come to trial, according to records on file in DuPage County Circuit Court in Wheaton.
Murphy, 19, of Chicago, was found guilty of a misdemeanor charge of attempted possession of a controlled substance, court records indicated. A companion charge of possession of 2.5 grams or less of marijuana was dismissed.
Judge John J. Kinsella on Monday placed Murphy on two years of probation and ordered him to perform 100 hours of community service work, records showed. Kinsella also ordered Murphy to undergo narcotics abuse treatment and counseling and pay a total of $600 in fines and court costs, according to records.
Murphy was arrested about 12:43 p.m. July 10 with friends Timothy E. Grandberry, 19, and Ahmad S. Willingham, 20, both of Romeoville. Naperville police took them into custody on the 1300 block of South Naper Boulevard, at the Fox Run Square shopping center.
Members of the police Special Operations Group in late May identified Grandberry as a drug dealer, a police spokesman said. Undercover officers in the following weeks made three “controlled” drug purchases from him, the spokesman said in May.
Grandberry, during the July 10 meeting, allegedly had 304 Ecstasy pills in his possession, the spokesman said. The pills had an estimated street sale value of $6,000.
Willingham accompanied Grandberry during two of the controlled purchases. Murphy had one Ecstasy pill and a small amount of marijuana in his possession at the time of the final purchase, the spokesman said.
Grandberry and Willingham face trial on Super X felony charges of the manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance.
— specifically, 200 but fewer than 600 Ecstasy pills. That crime carries a mandatory sentence of nine to 40 years in prison upon conviction.
Willingham remained Tuesday night in DuPage County Jail on $100,000 bail, and is scheduled to return to court on Dec. 13. Grandberry is free on bond and set to appear Dec. 18 in the case.
