A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Howell, Greene, and Texas counties. Jose I. Gonzales, 39, of West Plains, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 10 years in federal prison without parole. On July 23, 2020, Gonzales pleaded guilty to […]
Tag: prison
Missouri man pleads guilty to receiving and distributing hundreds of images and videos of child pornography
A Missouri, man pleaded guilty in federal court to receiving and distributing hundreds of images and videos of child pornography. Chandler Durham, 31, of Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of receiving and distributing child pornography. On Feb. 5, 2020, a detective with the Southwest Missouri Cyber […]
Missouri man pleads guilty to his role to distribute 551 pounds of meth
A Missouri, man pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a conspiracy to distribute more than 250 kilograms of methamphetamine in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Noah Frazier, 39, of Independence, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to one count of conspiracy to distributed methamphetamine and one count of being […]
Missouri couple plead guilty to selling counterfeit Disney movies on eBay
A Missouri, couple pleaded guilty in federal court to a scheme to smuggle counterfeit Disney DVDs into the United States and sell them on eBay. Tabitha Nicole Rodgers, 42, and her husband, Clint Travis Rodgers, 48, of Columbia, Missouri, pleaded guilty in separate appearances before Magistrate Judge Willie J. Epps, Jr. Tabitha Rodgers pleaded guilty […]
Missouri State Auditor releases audit of the Office of the St. Louis City Sheriff
State Auditor Nicole Galloway today released an audit of the Office of the Sheriff for the City of St. Louis. The audit, which gave the agency a rating of “good,” is part of the ongoing, comprehensive audit of St. Louis City. The Office of Sheriff consists of 7 units including Criminal and Civil Courts, Civil […]
Missouri executes Ernest Johnson by lethal injection
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri carried out the death sentence of Ernest Johnson Tuesday evening, ending his life with an injection of pentobarbital at the state prison in Bonne Terre. Johnson’s case drew national attention in recent weeks, with a range of public figures — from former Gov. Bob Holden to Pope Francis — urging Missouri Gov. […]
Missouri Governor Mike Parson won’t block execution of intellectually disabled man
(Missouri Independent) – Rejecting calls from lawmakers, advocates, and even the Pope for him to stop the execution of Ernest Johnson, an intellectually disabled man convicted of murder in 1995, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced Monday that the state will carry out the death sentence as planned at 6 p.m. Tuesday. “The state is prepared […]
Missouri man sentenced to 10 years in prison without parole for carrying almost 2.5 pounds of fentanyl aboard a train
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court for smuggling more than a kilogram of fentanyl in his luggage aboard a train that stopped in Kansas City, Mo., from Los Angeles, Calif., bound for St. Louis, Mo. Joseph D. Christie, 43, of Poplar Bluff, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 10 […]
Jury convicts Missouri man of meth trafficking at Camdenton, Missouri hotel
A Missouri, man has been convicted by a federal trial jury of possessing methamphetamine to distribute. Anthony Martinez Harris, 48, of Kansas City, was found guilty on Wednesday, Sept. 29, of one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. On Sept. 26, 2019, employees at the Sleep Inn on Highway 54 called Camdenton, […]
Missouri man pleads guilty to meth trafficking after high-speed chase
A Missouri man who led law enforcement officers on a high-speed chase pleaded guilty in federal court to possessing methamphetamine to distribute. Heath E. Yarger, 49, of Republic, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. By pleading guilty, Yarger admitted that he […]
Missouri Supreme Court mulls challenge to laws that blocked abortion bill vote
(Missouri Independent) – Making people who want to force a statewide vote on newly passed laws wait while the Secretary of State writes a ballot title undermines the constitutional right of referendum, attorneys for an abortion-rights group argued Wednesday to the Missouri Supreme Court. A ballot title was “not necessary for most of Missouri history,” […]
Missouri man pleads guilty to murder for hire scheme
A Missouri, man pleaded guilty in federal court to attempting to hire an undercover law enforcement agent to murder the victim in a pending statutory sodomy case. Jon Mark Wilson, 57, of Sedalia, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Willie J. Epps Jr. to one count of the use of interstate facilities (the use of […]
Woman pleads guilty to carjacking in Missouri
A woman pleaded guilty in federal court to stealing a vehicle at gunpoint from the parking garage at the Country Club Plaza. Maricela Delores Lozano, 21, of Kansas City, Kansas, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to one count of carjacking and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of […]
Missouri man sentenced to 11 years in prison, without parole, for meth and illegal firearms
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court for possessing methamphetamine to distribute and for illegally possessing firearms. Nathan Scott Thomas, 42, of Joplin, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 11 years in federal prison without parole. On May 3, 2021, Thomas pleaded guilty to one count of possessing methamphetamine with […]
Jury convicts Missouri man of illegal firearm
A Missouri man has been convicted by a federal trial jury of illegally possessing a firearm. Jeremiah Ezekiel Brown, 36, of Columbia, was found guilty on Monday, Sept. 20, of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Brown was arrested by a Columbia police detective during a traffic stop on Nov. 24, 2020. The […]
Federal court hears arguments on Missouri abortion ban with no rape, incest exception
(Missouri Independent) – The fate of Missouri’s ban on abortion after eight weeks of pregnancy, with no exception for rape or incest, rests in the hands of a panel of federal judges. Arguments Tuesday before the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis, and questions from the judges, focused almost exclusively on another provision […]
Missouri trucker sentenced to 25 years in prison without parole, for transporting minors across state lines and sexually assaulting them
A Missouri, truck driver was sentenced in federal court for transporting two Missouri teenagers across state lines and sexually assaulting them. Cleveland Lee Crumsey, 38, of Republic Missouri, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 25 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Crumsey to spend the rest of his […]
Missouri business owner who stole from customers, in $4 million fraud scheme, sentenced to 5 years in prison for $768,000 tax evasion
A Missouri business owner who engaged in a $4 million scheme to defraud his customers was sentenced in federal court for tax evasion after failing to pay more than $768,000 in state and federal taxes. “Not only did this defendant steal millions of dollars from his customers, but he stole from the public by evading […]
Report: Missouri receives failing grade for handling of COVID-19 in prisons
(Missouri News Service) – One out of every three people incarcerated in the United States has contracted COVID-19, and a new report shows how state prison systems – including in Missouri – have failed to properly handle the public-health crisis. The Prison Policy Initiative report evaluates how corrections departments have responded in four areas: limiting the […]