Former Wayne City Police Chief Sentenced

46-year-old Anson Fenton, the former Police Chief of Wayne City, was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in East St. Louis in relation to charges stemming from his illegal sale of confiscated property intended for forfeiture. Fenton, now a resident of Belle Rive, pleaded guilty in April to one count of misapplication of property from federally funded programs and one count of interstate transportation of stolen property. Yesterday, Fenton was sentenced to a term of 24 months’ probation for each of the two counts. However, these will run concurrently with each other. He was also ordered to pay restitution of $14,800.00 plus court costs. After the announcement of Fenton’s plea deal in April, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois disclosed that Fenton exploited his position to profit from assets seized by his department. Under federal law, asset forfeiture allows authorities to confiscate property tied to criminal activity. The Wayne City Police Department typically stores these items, including vehicles, cash, or real estate, until the city formally authorizes their disposal. As Chief, Fenton was entrusted with safeguarding such property. However, court records show he sold two Harley-Davidson motorcycles (a 2017 and a 2000 model) valued at over $5,000 and retained the proceeds without approval from the Wayne City Board of Trustees. In a separate transaction, Fenton traded a 2022 Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle for a 1991 Ford Mustang for personal use. He acknowledged transporting the Suzuki across state lines from Wayne City to Alexandria, Virginia, to finalize the deal. Fenton had faced a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and fines up to $250,000 on each charge.