NEWS RELEASE
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
BETH PHILLIPS
Contact Don Ledford, Public Affairs ● (816) 426-4220 ● 400 East Ninth Street, Room 5510 ● Kansas City, MO 64106
www.usdoj.gov../index.html
APRIL 13, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THREE WEBB CITY MEN INDICTED FOR METH CONSPIRACY;
IMPORTED INGREDIENT FROM THAILAND
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that three Webb City, Mo., men have been indicted by a federal grand jury for participating in a conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine that involved importing a key ingredient, pseudoephedrine, from Thailand.
Gary Dishong, 49, Michael W. Wright, 51, and Marcus A. Herrell, 35, all of Webb City, were charged in a 15-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo., on Wednesday, April 7, 2010. That indictment has been unsealed and made public upon the arrests and initial court appearances of all three co-defendants.
The federal indictment alleges that Dishong, Wright and Herrell participated in a conspiracy to manufacture 50 grams or more of methamphetamine in Jasper County, Mo., from January 2008 to Dec. 8, 2009.
In addition to the methamphetamine conspiracy, Dishong, Wright and Herrell are charged together with one count of attempting to manufacture methamphetamine and one count of creating a substantial risk of harm to human life while attempting to manufacture methamphetamine.
Dishong is also charged with one count of participating in a conspiracy to import pseudoephedrine into the United States from Thailand with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine. Dishong is also charged with using a Joplin, Mo., residence for the purpose of manufacturing methamphetamine.
Dishong and Wright are charged together with one count of illegally possessing pseudoephedrine, two counts of illegally possessing red phosphorus, two counts of illegally possessing iodine and two counts of illegally possessing acetone, knowing those ingredients would be used to manufacture methamphetamine. Dishong and Wright are also charged together with one count of manufacturing methamphetamine.
Herrell is also charged with one count of controlling a residence in Joplin that he made available for manufacturing methamphetamine and with one count of attempting to prevent the seizure of a methamphetamine lab by a law enforcement officer by destroying it.
Phillips cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David P. Rush. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Jasper County Drug Task Force, the Newton County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the 4th Judicial Drug Task Force in Newport, Tenn.
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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, is available on-line at
http://www.justice.gov../index.html