A rural New Boston man’s Class X felony meth manufacturing case has been moved to next month. 53 year old Lester Ward’s new counsel asked for the continuance Monday in Mercer County Circuit Court. Ward also faces a Class 3 felony of felon in possession of a firearm. He was charged after Mercer County Sheriff’s Deputies, Quad Cities MEG agents and Illinois State Police executed a search warrant at his residence. A pre-trial conference is now set for April 6. Ward is free after posting ten-percent of his $400,000 bond.
