SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Lebanon, Mo., man who crashed his automobile and resisted arrest was sentenced in federal courtroom immediately for his position in a methamphetamine conspiracy in Newton and Greene counties.
Douglas S. Ward, 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Decide M. Douglas Harpool to twenty years in federal jail with out parole.
On March 3, 2022, Ward pleaded responsible to taking part in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Co-defendants William D. Johnson, 47, handle unknown, and Joshua T. Davenport, 41, of Miami, Oklahoma, have additionally pleaded responsible and await sentencing.
Ward admitted that he acquired methamphetamine and distributed it to others in the course of the conspiracy, which lasted from Could 20 to Sept. 28, 2019. Johnson obtained massive quantities of methamphetamine from a supply in California and distributed it to others, together with Davenport.
Ward was arrested after he crashed the automobile he was driving on June 18, 2019. A Jasper County, Mo., Sheriff’s Division transport officer was touring eastbound on Missouri 96 close to Route UU in Lawrence County, Mo., when Ward’s automobile handed him, forcing one other automobile within the reverse lane off the roadway. Because the officer tried to catch as much as him, Ward turned proper onto County Highway 1085 however missed the intersection. Ward’s automobile traveled off the roadway and overturned.
Ward punched out the driving force’s aspect window and crawled out of the automobile. A person and a lady crawled out from the passenger’s aspect, and the officer ordered all three of them to remain down. Ward, nevertheless, reached into his pocket and pulled out a big plastic bag that contained 88.01 grams of methamphetamine, which he threw on the bottom, then took off working.
The officer caught as much as Ward however Ward resisted arrest. Ward was in a position to get away when the girl from his automobile got here up behind the officer and grabbed him. A Missouri State Freeway Patrol trooper who got here to help the officer ultimately apprehended Ward, who was hiding within the grass.
In response to courtroom paperwork, Ward advised officers in June 2019 that he had been getting one pound of methamphetamine per day from his supply since getting out of jail in December 2018. He additionally admitted that, for 4 weeks previous to his arrest, he had obtained two kilos of methamphetamine per week for $4,000 per pound.
Ward has a previous state felony conviction for drug trafficking. Ward additionally has a previous conviction for home violence for an incident through which he picked up his girlfriend, slammed her on the ground, picked her up once more, and threw her on the sofa. When the sufferer’s 2-year-old daughter got here into the room, he yelled on the baby. The sufferer advised him to not yell at her daughter, at which level he grabbed the sufferer from behind and started to choke her and hit her within the face. Ward has one other assault conviction for an incident that occurred whereas he was incarcerated and attacked one other inmate.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Lawyer Jessica R. Eatmon. It was investigated by the Missouri State Freeway Patrol, the Newton County, Mo., Sheriff’s Division, the Joplin, Mo., Police Division, the Jasper County, Mo., Sheriff’s Division, the Springfield, Mo., Police Division, the Apache County, Arizona, Sheriff’s Division, the Ozarks Drug Enforcement Crew, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the FBI.
Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Process Drive
This case is a part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Process Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level felony organizations that threaten the USA utilizing a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency strategy. Extra details about the OCDETF Program may be discovered at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.