Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A St. Joseph, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for possessing methamphetamine and heroin to distribute and illegally possessing firearms.

Matthew J. Crossfield, 40, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to 15 years in federal prison without parole.

On June 1, 2022, Crossfield pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, one count of possessing heroin with the intent to distribute, and two counts of possessing firearms in furtherance of drug-trafficking crimes.

St. Joseph police officers were called to a Dollar General Store on Dec. 11, 2019, in response to a theft that had just occurred. An officer checked the area where the thief had fled and saw Crossfield, who matched the description of the thief, walking into Oak Ridge Apartments. When Crossfield saw the officer, he immediately ran into an apartment building. The officer followed him into the building and caught up with him on the third floor. The officer ordered Crossfield to place his hands on the wall, but Crossfield started running with the officer in pursuit. The officer eventually caught up to Crossfield, tackled him to the ground, and detained him.

Crossfield had a loaded SCCY 9mm pistol in the front waistband of his jeans. Crossfield also had a fanny pack in his front left jacket pocket, which contained a plastic bag with approximately 10.9 grams of methamphetamine, a plastic bag that contained approximately 1.4 grams of heroin, and a plastic bag that contained 11.7 grams of heroin. Crossfield had another bag in his left front jeans pocket that contained approximately 14.1 grams of methamphetamine. His right front jeans pocket contained a bag with approximately 13.8 grams of marijuana and four suboxone strips.

On Jan. 13, 2021, investigators with the Buchanan County Drug Strike Force and the St. Joseph, Police Department were conducting surveillance on Crossfield, who had two active felony warrants for his arrest. They located Crossfield, who was driving a white PT Cruiser, in the area of Illinois Street and Stockyards Expressway in St. Joseph. When Crossfield pulled into the driveway at an Arby’s restaurant, a detective pulled in front of him and an investigator pulled behind him and activated his emergency lights. When Crossfield saw the detective pull in front of him, he attempted to get away by putting his car in reverse, striking the investigator’s patrol vehicle. After striking the patrol vehicle, Crossfield placed both hands in the air.

Investigators saw a loaded Taurus 9mm pistol with an extended magazine (that contained 25 rounds) in between Crossfield’s legs. officers took Crossfield into custody and found a loaded KelTec .22-caliber handgun in his back pocket. Crossfield also had a belt around his waist (under his shirt) that contained a plastic bag with approximately 2.1 grams of methamphetamine, a plastic bag with approximately 14.7 grams of heroin, a plastic bag with approximately 3.4 grams of heroin, and two plastic bags with approximately 20-25 ecstasy pills. Officers searched Crossfield’s vehicle and found two bags of marijuana and rolling papers, a bag of approximately 21.7 grams of methamphetamine, a bag with approximately 11.5 grams of methamphetamine, a bag with 1.6 grams of methamphetamine, a bag with 4.1 grams of methamphetamine, a jar with 92.4 grams of marijuana, and drug paraphernalia.

Crossfield told investigators he had been selling 10 ounces of heroin every eight days since approximately August 2020. He also admitted he had been selling drugs since he was released from prison in 2018.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert M. Smith. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Buchanan County Drug Strike Force, and the St. Joseph, Mo., Police Department.

Project Safe Neighborhoods

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.