MARION COUNTY, IL — A 28-year-old Centralia man was sentenced Friday in Marion County Court to 5-years in prison after he pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Lamar Bennett was originally charged in March with Class X felony home invasion and Class 3 felony being a felon in possession of a firearm but the Class X offense was dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

Bennett pleaded guilty in 2016 in Marion County to a felony charge of possessing narcotics, in exchange for a charge stemming from the alleged armed robbery of Fuel Vend in Centralia being dismissed.

In June 2019, prosecutors elected to not pursue charges accusing Bennett of shooting at a woman and then holding her captive at gunpoint, after the woman changed her story and denied the allegations.