Texts with buyers help put pot dealer in prison

CAPE GIRARDEAU — A Ripley County man was sentenced to more than five years in federal prison Wednesday morning on drug- and weapons-related offenses.

John C. Lovell was sentenced to 63 months on the felonies of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime by U.S. District Judge Steven A. Clark, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Upon his release from prison, Lovell reportedly will be placed on a three-year period of supervised release.

The government also dismissed an additional felony count of felon in possession of a firearm at sentencing.

With his January plea, Lovell admitted to possessing six firearms, as well as admitted he “protected the marijuana and/or marijuana sales’ proceeds with the firearms.”

The agreed-upon facts of Lovell’s case say in November 2018 he was robbed at gunpoint at his home by three individuals.

The suspects “secured Lovell with zip ties and threatened him with the shotgun in order to obtain the code to unlock Lovell’s gun safe,” the plea agreement further says.

The men reportedly took several pounds of marijuana and firearms from Lovell’s safe.

The firearms included a Smith & Wesson .22-caliber pistol, a Stevens 12-gauge shotgun and a H & K .45-caliber pistol.

“When officers were called to the scene of the crime to investigate (the robbery), they noticed the overwhelming smell of raw marijuana in the Lovell home,” the plea agreement says. “They searched Lovell’s cellphone by his consent and discovered several text messages where he discussed selling marijuana to other people.”

Lovell reportedly previously sold quantities of marijuana to other persons from his Ripley County home.