Rantoul man gets probation for Ecstasy found in home

Jul. 21—URBANA — A Rantoul man who admitted he had Ecstasy at a home in Rantoul more than a year ago has been sentenced to two years of probation.

Joshua Bell, 28, whose last known address was in the 1000 block of Saint Andrews Circle, pleaded guilty before Judge Roger Webber on Thursday to possession of a controlled substance.

The charge stemmed from Bell's arrest on May 19, 2022, at a home on Harper Drive in Rantoul where members of the Champaign County Street Crimes Task Force found about 9 grams of Ecstasy in the form of pills and two guns.

Bell admitted the Ecstasy was his but denied any knowledge of the guns. Other charges alleging he had less than an ounce of cannabis for sale and possessed the guns were dismissed by Assistant State's Attorney Scott Larson in a plea agreement.

Larson said Bell's DNA was excluded from the guns.

Bell was also sentenced to 29 days in jail with credit for time served and ordered to perform 50 hours of public service and get a substance abuse evaluation.

Court records show that Bell was sentenced in July 2022 to two years of court supervision for driving under the influence in January 2022 in Rantoul. He was also sentenced to first offender probation in December 2018 for possession with intent to deliver less than an ounce of cannabis.