A Poplar Bluff man will spend a decade in prison after being arrested in possession of drugs and loaded weapons he told law enforcement he planned to use to protect those drugs.
Jaleel D. Gipson, 31, was sentenced Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. at the federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. Gipson was sentenced on the charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
In a guilty plea last year, Gipson said the two 9mm pistols were loaded and for the protection of the narcotics he planned to distribute.
He was arrested June 11, 2022, in Ripley County, when he was stopped by a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper. The trooper reported a search of the vehicle turned up not only the weapons, but 233 grams of methamphetamine and 126 grams of marijuana.
After serving the 10 years sentence in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Gipson will be placed on supervised release for a period of four years.
This case was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Assistant United States Attorney Julie Hunter handled the prosecution for the government.