NEWS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

BRADLEY J. SCHLOZMAN

Contact Don Ledford, Public Affairs ● (816) 426-4220 ● 400 East Ninth Street, Room 5510 ● Kansas City, MO 64106

www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/index.html

FEBRUARY 22, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COLUMBIA MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO ECSTASY,

MARIJUANA CONSPIRACY

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Bradley J. Schlozman, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Columbia, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to participating in a conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute ecstasy and marijuana.

Justin Lamarr Simpson, 24, of Columbia, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Nanette K. Laughrey this afternoon to the charges contained in a Nov. 6, 2006, federal indictment.

By pleading guilty today, Simpson admitted that he participated in a conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute ecstasy and marijuana in Boone County, Mo., from March 1 to July 9, 2006. Simpson also admitted that he was in possession with the intent to distribute ecstasy and marijuana on July 9, 2006.

Under federal statutes, Simpson could be subject to a sentence of up to 40 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $2 million. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Lynn. It was investigated by the Columbia, Mo., Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

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