Two Galesburg men have been convicted of federal drug trafficking charges following a four-day trial at the U.S. Courthouse in Rock Island.
A federal jury found Juan Pablo Garcia, 30, also known as “Chewy,” and Edgar Calderon, 33, also known as “Lil Man,” guilty of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine, along with methamphetamine distribution charges. The verdict was returned Feb. 27, 2026.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois, the two men conspired with others beginning in the spring of 2024 and continuing through the fall of 2024 to source kilograms of methamphetamine and cocaine from Texas and bring them back to Galesburg for distribution.
During the investigation, law enforcement conducted multiple controlled drug buys from Garcia and one controlled buy from Calderon. Investigators also presented evidence of a traffic stop in Nacogdoches County, Texas, where approximately 9.8 kilograms of methamphetamine and approximately three kilograms of cocaine were seized and attributed to the two men.
Both Garcia and Calderon have remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since their arrests. Sentencing for both is scheduled for June 15, 2026, before Chief U.S. District Judge Sara Darrow in Rock Island.
Garcia, who has one prior serious violent felony, faces a statutory penalty of 15 years to life in prison and at least 10 years of supervised release. Calderon faces a statutory penalty of 10 years to life in prison and between five years and a lifetime of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI’s Springfield Field Office, the Galesburg Police Department, the Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Department in Texas, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amanda Searle and Jennifer L. Mathew represented the United States at trial.