Jerry D. Thornton, Methamphetamine Distribution, Missouri 2019

Nixa Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Methamphetamine Distribution

Jerry D. Thornton, a 46-year-old resident of Nixa, Missouri, pleaded guilty to his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in federal court today.

According to the investigation, Thornton received multiple pounds of methamphetamine through the mail from a source in California from December 8, 2018, to February 5, 2019. He then distributed the methamphetamine to others in southwest Missouri, receiving and distributing at least 11.34 kilograms of the illicit substance.

A confidential source told investigators that Thornton received approximately one shipment of methamphetamine each week, with each package containing about five pounds. On February 5, 2019, postal inspectors intercepted a parcel being shipped to Thornton's address, which contained 990.3 grams of methamphetamine.

Inspectors conducted a controlled delivery of a duplicate package, which contained rock salt, to Thornton's residence. When the package was retrieved from his porch, officers executed a search warrant of the residence, where they found a Ruger .22-caliber semi-automatic pistol in the drawer of a bedside table and a loaded Hi-Point 9mm semi-automatic rifle in the garage.

Under federal statutes, Thornton is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica R. Keller. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Nixa, Mo., Police Department.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdmo/pr/nixa-man-pleads-guilty-meth-conspiracy