Missouri man sentenced to 18 years for heroin trafficking

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A southwestern Missouri man was sentenced Friday to 18 years in federal prison for possessing and distributing heroin; he was the last of eight defendants sentenced in this case.

This sentence resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Springfield (Missouri) Police Department.

Danny R. Jones, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 18 years in federal prison without parole.  On June 27, 2018, he pleaded guilty to possessing heroin with the intent to distribute.

Prior to executing search warrants to recover evidence, authorities established surveillance on Jones’s residence on May 10, 2016. Officers saw Jones leave his residence driving a Ford Taurus. An officer stopped the vehicle for an improper license plate and arrested Jones, who was driving with a revoked driver’s license. The officer searched the vehicle and found a diaper bag on the passenger-side rear seat. Inside the diaper bag were several clear plastic bags that contained a total of 190 grams (6.7 ounces) of heroin.

Jones is one of eight defendants charged in this case, all of whom have pleaded guilty, and is the final defendant to be sentenced.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nhan D. Nguyen, Western District of Missouri.