Authorities have apprehended the fourth and final suspect in a drug and theft ring based out of Streator.

Robert L. Phillips, 50, was taken into custody June 10 by the Illinois Department of Corrections. He had been on parole since spring 2023 after serving part of a 35-year sentence for a felony cocaine charge.

Phillips will now be remanded to La Salle County (scheduled court date: July 8) to face multiple charges led by calculated criminal drug conspiracy, a Class X felony carrying up to 30 years.

Phillips and three other men were charged shortly before Thanksgiving 2024 after Streator police announced a series of search warrants resulting in the seizure of multiple firearms (many stolen) plus drugs and “tens of thousands” worth of stolen property.

“So far in this ongoing investigation into the manufacture and sale of controlled substances as well as organized shoplifting/burglaries affecting not only Streator, but La Salle, Livingston, Marshall, and Grundy counties,” Streator police said then.

While Phillips was on the lam, there was little movement in most of the remaining cases. Keith R. Gullens and Darryl D. Gullens have pending pre-trial motions to be resolved before they stand trial for the conspiracy charge and other felonies, most for drug deals.

One case may be closer to a resolution. David L. Miller, 36, awaits sentencing Aug. 5 on drug charges pending before he was charged in the Streator-area sting.