Springfield Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Illegal Drugs, Firearm

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing methamphetamine and a firearm.

Allewa T. Whitley, 32, of Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to 20 years in federal prison without parole.

On May 9, 2013, Whitley pleaded guilty to possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Springfield police officers searched Whitley’s apartment on Feb. 22, 2011, and found multiple components of an active methamphetamine lab and evidence of distribution. Officers also located multiple amounts of methamphetamine in various bags, including one bag that contained 84.7 grams of methamphetamine at 100 percent purity level. Another bag contained  57.63 grams of methamphetamine. Officers found $1,736 in Whitley’s car. Whitley had 7.35 grams of methamphetamine and $2,000 on his person.

Officers also found a North American Arms .22-caliber revolver in Whitley’s apartment. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Whitley has prior felony convictions for distributing a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, possession of a chemical with intent to create a controlled substance, burglary and tampering.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ami Harshad Miller and Cynthia J. Hyde. It was investigated by the Springfield, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.