JEFFERSON COUNTY, IL — A 36-year-old Mississippi woman pleaded guilty Wednesday in Jefferson County Court to an amended charge in a 2020 drug case and was sentenced to 12 months conditional discharge. Brandi Tate was arrested by Mt. Vernon police in connection with an ISP investigation and was originally charged with Class X felonies for controlled substance trafficking and manufacture with the intent to distribute more than 900 grams of fentanyl.

Tate was arrested a few days before 36-year-old Corey Frierson, also of Mississippi, and also in connection with an Illinois State Police investigation into drug trafficking. Frierson was charged with Class X felony trafficking of a controlled substance and possession with the intent to distribute more than 900 grams of fentanyl. He pleaded guilty in January to the fentanyl charge in exchange for the trafficking charge being dismissed. He was sentenced to 10 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Tate pleaded guilty Wednesday to Class A misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.