PEMISCOT MAN FOUND GUILTY OF SELLING COCAINE, TWO OTHERS PLEAD ON GUN CHARGES

A Pemiscot County man was found guilty by a jury in federal court Tuesday of selling cocaine, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

Undercover law enforcement officers testified that Alonzo Jones, 36, had sold cocaine to them on two separate occasions in Steele in 1998, said Paul Hahn, assistant U.S. Attorney.

In most instances when drugs are sold to undercover police, a guilty plea is given and a trial isn't necessary, Hahn said. Jones' two-day trial was an exception, he said.

The jury deliberated 15 minutes before finding the defendant guilty.

Jones will be sentenced in U.S. District Court on Feb. 28, Hahn said. In other court action, men from Carter and Stoddard counties pleaded guilty to illegal firearms possession.

Both men are previously convicted felons and are not allowed to possess firearms, Assistant U.S. Attorney Teresa Bright-Pearson said. The pleas were unrelated to each other.

The residence of Douglas R. Van Slooten, 43, in Grandin had been searched by law enforcement in January, at which time a .22-caliber semiautomatic rifle was discovered. It was loaded with 15 rounds, and was kept in Slooten's bedroom. He told law enforcement that he used the gun to shoot at tin cans.

Slooten had been convicted previously of breaking and entering in 1977 and 1981, and possession of a controlled substance in 1977, Bright-Pearson said.

In a separate hearing, David T. Payne, 35, pleaded guilty before Judge E. Richard Webber of illegal firearms possession. Several firearms and ammunition were found at his residence by law enforcement in May.

Both men will be sentenced in February.