Poplar Bluff man guilty on drug charges

A federal jury has found a Poplar Bluff, Missouri, man guilty on drug charges.

Marcus Nelson, 39, faced charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau in Judge Stephen Limbaugh Jr.'s court.

After a two-day trial, jurors found Nelson guilty. Sentencing will come at a future date.

According to a release from Sayler Fleming, U.S. district attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, "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 (duffel) bag off a side deck of the residence. Officers recovered the (duffel) 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."

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Keith D. Sorrell and Julie A. Hunter handled the case.