Malden man found guilty in drug case

A Cape Girardeau jury found a Malden, Missouri, man guilty Thursday of distributing a controlled substance.

A news release from Saylor Fleming, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, said Marcrease Farmer, 36, was found guilty of distributing methamphetamine after a two-day trial.

On Aug. 2, 2019, a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper acting in an undercover capacity, purchased 2 ounces of methamphetamine from Farmer at a location near Bernie, Missouri. The substance was tested at the MSHP Crime Laboratory and determined to be 55.77 grams of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine.

Six days later, Farmer met the trooper again in Bernie and delivered what tested positive at the Crime Laboratory as being 98.74 grams of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine.

On Aug. 21, 2019, the trooper met with Farmer in Bernie for a final time and paid $2,200 for a half-pound of methamphetamine. Farmer provided the officer with 224.23 grams of a substance testing positive for the presence of methamphetamine at the MSHP Crime Laboratory.

Farmer faces a minimum sentence of five years in prison and up to a maximum sentence of 40 years of imprisonment. Farmer's sentencing is set for Oct. 18.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul W. Hahn handled the prosecution for the government.