The first of three convicted co-defendants was sentenced in federal court on Wednesday for her involvement in a methamphetamine conspiracy.
This website brought to you in part by the following sponsor:
The first of three convicted co-defendants was sentenced in federal court on Wednesday for her involvement in a methamphetamine conspiracy.
U.S Attorney for the Western District, Todd Graves, said that Laurie E. Baker, 21, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ortrie D. Smith to two years in federal prison without parole.
The sentencing, was the result of work completed by the NITRO Task Force.
Ms. Baker pleaded guilty on March 12 to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. By pleading guilty, she admitted that the conspiracy took place between Oct. 1, 2002, and Sept. 18, 2003, in Grundy County.
Ms. Baker is the third co-defendant to plead guilty in the conspiracy.
Gary Michael Swafford, 31, pleaded guilty on April 13 to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine between Oct. 1, 2002, and Sept. 18, 2003, in Grundy County.
Patricia Jean Chipps, 36, pleaded guilty on June 28 to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine between Oct. 1, 2002, and Sept. 18, 2003, in Grundy County.
Each of the co-defendants was charged in a sealed indictment returned by a federal grand jury on Sept. 17, 2003, in Kansas City. The indictment was unsealed and made public upon the defendants’ arrest and first appearance in court on Sept. 24, 2003, in Kansas City.
The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Rhoades. It was investigated by the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Trenton Police Department, the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department, the Daviess County Sheriff’s Department and the NITRO Task Force. NITRO is the Northwest Missouri Interagency Team Response Operation, a joint law enforcement effort by the United States Attorney’s Office and federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in the 16-county region.