A jury trial is now set for February 24th for a southern Illinois man charged in a Mercer County meth case. 36 year old Justin Robert Jentz of Epworth had several defense motions denied in Mercer County Circuit Court this week—including one for expert witness fees and another involving a prisoner transport of a witness from another state. Jentz has been in custody at the Mercer County Jail on $500,000 bond since his arrest last March. He faces Class X and Class 1 felonies stemming from a traffic stop on Illinois Route 17 near 220th Street. Class X felonies are punishable by 6-to-30 years in prison upon conviction with Class 1 felonies carrying a term of 4-to-15 years in prison. Jentz also goes by the alias of Justin Robert Wright and Craig Wright.
