Four appear in federal court on meth-related charges

Three people were sentenced and one man pleaded guilty in federal court in Cape Girardeau Tuesday, all on methamphetamine-related charges.

U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber sentenced Wanda Bullock 43, and Farel Holder, 29, both of Southern Illinois to 57 and 49 months, respectively, for conspiracy to unlawfully possess pseudoephedrine knowing it would be used to manufacture methamphetamine.

In an unrelated case, Webber sentenced Ronald Lunsford, 44, of Poplar Bluff to 100 months in prison for one felony count of possession of pseudoephedrine with reasonable cause to believe it would be used to manufacture methamphetamine.

Bullock and Holder had previously admitted that on or about July 24, 2003, they drove to various stores in Sikeston, Mo., and Cairo, Ill., to buy pseudoephedrine pills in order to sell them to a methamphetamine manufacturer for $20 a box. Officers followed the vehicle which stopped at a nearby convenience store where Bullock got out of the car and placed a Wal-Mart bag in the trash can. The officer retrieved the bag and found five empty pseudoephedrine pill boxes.

A total of 532 pills were found in the vehicle; each pill contained 120 mg of pseudoephedrine.

Lunsford had previously admitted that on or about May 1, 2003, he spoke with a confidential source about a future pseudoephedrine transaction. Lunsford told the source he would like to buy 2,000 pseudoephedrine pills of 60-milligram strength and agreed on a price of $1,000 for the pills.

On May 6, Lunsford met with the source and gave him $850 toward the purchase. He told the source he intended to manufacture meth with the pills and expected to produce three to four ounces of the drug.

In addition to the sentencings, Donald White, 45, of Sikeston, Mo., pleaded guilty before Webber to one felony count of attempt to manufacture methamphetamine. With his plea, White admitted that on or about Dec. 9, 2003, a search warrant was executed at his residence in Sikeston, and officers found items used to manufacture methamphetamine along with a 9 mm Stallard Arms semi-automatic pistol. Prior to the search White had been seen buying items used in the manufacture of methamphetamine.

He faces a maximum of 30 years in prison and a $2 million fine. He will be sentenced July 27.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Abbie Crites-Leoni handled the prosecution for all the cases.

Participating in the investigations were the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Poplar Bluff Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, Sikeston Department of Public Safety and the Scott County Sheriff's Department.