CAPE GIRARDEAU - A jury found Marcus Nelson, 39, of Poplar Bluff, Missouri guilty of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine following a two-day jury trial on March 23, 2021. He appeared before the United States District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr.
The evidence during the trial proved Nelson conspired with others to bring 45 pounds of methamphetamine from Texas to Missouri between December 2018 and March of 2019. On March 19, 2019, SEMO Drug Task Force Officers received information a subject who lived in Ripley County near Doniphan, Missouri was expecting a large shipment of methamphetamine. Officers traveled to the residence and were speaking with the subject in the driveway when someone threw a duffle bag off a side deck of the residence. Officers recovered the duffle bag and discovered approximately 11 pounds of methamphetamine and eight ounces of heroin inside. Further investigation determined Marcus Ray Nelson brought the bag to the residence and threw it out upon learning police arrived. Nelson, Matthew Wade Stoutt and Gino Wells Sr. were indicted and charged with conspiring to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine. Nelson was also charged with possession of 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of more than 100 grams of heroin with intent to distribute.
The Ripley County Sheriff’s Department, SEMO Drug Task Force and Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorneys Keith D. Sorrell and Julie A. Hunter handled the case. ##
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
