Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Columbia, Mo., man still on supervised release from a prior felony conviction was sentenced in federal court today for possessing heroin to distribute and illegally possessing a firearm.

Vernon Deandre Jordan, 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to nine years in federal prison without parole. Today’s sentence includes a two-year term for violating his supervised release in an unrelated case.

On Jan. 31, 2019, Jordan pleaded guilty to possessing heroin to distribute and using a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. Jordan also pleaded guilty to violating the terms of his supervised release by committing those offenses. In that earlier case, Jordan pleaded guilty on Aug. 11, 2015, to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to two years in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release.

Probation officers conducted a search of Jordan’s residence on Nov. 15, 2017, based upon Jordan’s conditions of supervised release. Jordan asked for a coat from his closet, and one of the officers searched the coat before handing it to him. Inside the coat pockets, an officer found a handcuff key, approximately 25.2 grams of heroin, and $888.

Inside the top drawer of a nightstand, officers also found a loaded Glock .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol, a box that contained 47 rounds of 9mm ammunition, and approximately 50 grams of heroin separated into two plastic baggies.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence E. Miller. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Probation Office and the Boone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.