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Bloomington Man Convicted In Police Informant's Slaying In Chicago

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A Bloomington man with an extensive criminal record was convicted of murder Friday in the death of a police informant.

During a trial in Chicago, Marquelle Palmer, 35, was convicted of killing Melissa Woods in 2012, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Friday. Prosecutors said Palmer killed Woods after learning she was talking to police about a drug case involving his brother.

In May 2012 Woods was to testify in a drug case targeting Palmer, his brother and more than a dozen others accused of trafficking cocaine out of a Bloomington car dealership. Palmer and 15 others were then indicted in a Peoria federal case—called Operation Blue Bulldog—months after Woods' body was discovered in the basement of a boarded-up building in Chicago.

Palmer entered a plea deal in 2014 with federal prosecutors, though terms of the deal remain sealed. He received a 14-year sentence.

Palmer's criminal record includes guilty pleas—and prison sentences—for drug offenses in 2005 and 2008 in McLean County, records show.

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Ryan Denham is the digital content director for WGLT.
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