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Nineteen years for selling meth, firearm possession
On Monday, Daniel A. Crawford, 37, of El Dorado Springs, was sentenced in Springfield by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to 19 years in federal prison without parole.
"The prosecutor and judge were impressed that a number of us from the communities affected and involved with these crimes showed up," Vernon County Sheriff Mosher, who was present at the sentencing, said. "It shows we care about community and want justice. And the sentence shows the judge took it as seriously as we do."
On Sept. 8, 2016, Crawford pled guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
Crawford was arrested by sheriff's deputies on Jan. 22, 2015, after being called to a burglary in progress. Deputies found Crawford in his truck along with another person; they had been blocked by the victim and the person who notified the sheriff's office. A piece of glass in Crawford's pocket field tested positive for meth.
Searching the truck, deputies found a false compartment containing 11 grams of meth in a pop bottle plus scales, recloseable plastic bags, a Mountain Arms .22-caliber rifle, ammunition and stolen property.
Crawford admitted he and co-defendant Marklee Eugene Bogart, 36, of Nevada, had an agreement to deal meth with and for one another.
On Aug. 20, 2014, while searching Bogart's residence, law enforcement officers found 176 grams of meth, 22 firearms, a grenade and $9,400, proceeds of drug trafficking.
Later in August, from listening to phone calls he made while in jail, authorities gained information, which led to the seizure of an additional $41,380 from Bogart.
On Jan. 19, Bogart was sentenced to five years in federal prison without parole after pleading guilty to his role in the drug-trafficking conspiracy and to possessing firearms in furtherance of the conspiracy.
This case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Josephine M. Larison and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the sheriff's offices of Bates and Vernon Counties.