High School

Former Illinois High School Baseball Coach Indicted on Drug Trafficking Charges

Demetrius Combs faces multiple criminal charges including distributing fentanyl

Dana Becker

Sept 11, 2025; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Military police turn on their lights and sirens at 8:46 a.m. during the Fort Gordon September 11 Remembrance Ceremony. Mandatory Credit: Katie Goodale - Augusta Chronicle/USA TODAY NETWORK
Sept 11, 2025; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Military police turn on their lights and sirens at 8:46 a.m. during the Fort Gordon September 11 Remembrance Ceremony. Mandatory Credit: Katie Goodale - Augusta Chronicle/USA TODAY NETWORK / Katie Goodale-Augusta Chronicle/USA TODAY / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A former Illinois high school baseball coach has been indicted in U.S. Court on drug trafficking charges.

Demetrius Combs served as an assistant baseball coach and truancy officer at Cahokia High School in 2023, when the alleged offense took place. Cahokia School District 187 Superintendent Curtis McCall Jr. told the Belleville News-Democrat that he resigned the following summer, giving no explanation for the reason.

“This is the first I’ve even remotely learned of any of this,” McCall said. “It came as a shock to everyone.”

Combs, 33 years old, is now facing multiple criminal charges in the U.S. Court for the Eastern District of Missouri including distribution of fentanyl, distribution of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, the same with methamphetamine and possession of a firearm.

In the indictment, it is alleged that Combs conducted drug sales in the summer of 2023. He was arrested on September 25 and has pleased not guilty to the charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office in St. Louis. 

Accused Former Coach Sold Drugs to Undercover Police Officer

Combs sold drugs to an undercover St. Louis County Police Department officer three different times. When his home in Missouri was searched, officers found almost $4,000 in cash and fentanyl capsules, along with a pistol in his car. 

Cahokia is a public high school in Cahokia Heights in Illinois. The school had an enrollment of nearly 800 in 2023-24, almost 10 years after it nearly eliminated all sports. 

Former NFL standout Terron Armstead and ex-MLB player Byron Gettis are both alumni of the school.

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Dana Becker
DANA BECKER

Dana Becker has been a sports writer in Iowa since 2000, writing for The Fort Dodge Messenger, Mason City Globe-Gazette, Cedar Rapids Gazette and others. Dana resides in northcentral Iowa and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in 2022 focused on the state of Iowa. Along with providing coverage of football and wrestling, Dana also spotlights cross country, swimming, basketball, track and field, soccer, tennis, golf, baseball and softball. He began writing for High School on SI in 2023.

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