JEFFERSON COUNTY — A 33-year-old Mt. Vernon man was sentenced Thursday in Jefferson County Court to 15 years in prison after he earlier pleaded guilty to being an armed habitual criminal.

Demario Bell was arrested last November after the Mt. Vernon Police Department/Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Joint Narcotics Unit developed information indicating illegal narcotics were being sold from Bell’s home on South 7th in Mt. Vernon.

Detectives applied for and received a Jefferson County search warrant for the home and during the search; narcotics detectives located 38 grams of crack cocaine, a loaded handgun and narcotics packaging materials. The handgun was determined to be stolen from Centralia.

Then in March, just days before he was scheduled to go to trial on the three Class X felony charges against him, Bell pleaded guilty to being an armed habitual criminal and the cocaine delivery charge in exchange for a second armed habitual criminal charge being dismissed.

He was sentenced Thursday to 15 years on each count, with the sentences to be served concurrently.