Two Cape Girardeau men receive prison sentences in federal court

The following items were released by the office of federal prosecutor Catherine L. Hanaway.

Sentences

n Name: Arthur L. Ivy

• Age: 26
• Residence: Cape Girardeau
• Charge: One felony count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one felony count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

n Sentence: 85 months in prison

• Summary: On Oct. 8, 2007, officers of the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force received information that one of two men on Ellis Street had just sold cocaine base to a confidential informant. The two men ran when stopped by police. The second man, later identified as Ivy, was found in a closet of a house on Ellis Street. A nearby resident reported someone had tossed a handgun and plastic baggie in the back yard of the home. The officers searched the yard and house and found a plastic baggie containing cocaine base. They also found a Taurus pistol. DNA analysis later linked Ivy to both the drugs and weapon.
• Name: David L. Hightower
• Age: 24

n Residence: Cape Girardeau

n Charge: Two felony counts of distribution of cocaine base

• Sentence: 78 months in prison
• Summary: On May 16, 2007, members of the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force used a confidential informant to buy cocaine. Hightower sold 0.65 grams of a substance containing cocaine base to the informant for $80. Several hours later, the informant bought 0.31 grams for $40.