A judge grants a defense motion for production and disclosure of identity of confidential informant in a rural New Boston’s meth case. The ruling was handed down Tuesday in Mercer County Circuit Court by Judge Derek Hanks. The motion was filed by 54-year-old Lester Ward’s attorney. Ward is facing a Class X felony. The charge was filed after Mercer County Sheriff’s Deputies, Quad Cities MEG agents, and Illinois State Police executed a search warrant at his residence in January of 2020.
Ward remains free after posting ten percent of his $400,000 bond last year. A pre-trial conference is set for Dec. 14.