DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
Western District of Missouri

For Immediate Release

Friday, June 22, 2018
Timothy A. Garrison
, United States Attorney
Contact: Don Ledford

Strafford Man Sentenced for Meth, Illegal Firearm

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Strafford, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for possessing methamphetamine to distribute and for illegally possessing a firearm.

 

Stephen T. Gross, 41, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 12 years and eight months in federal prison without parole.

 

On May 24, 2017, Gross pleaded guilty to one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.

 

Strafford police officers arrested Gross on Aug. 27, 2016, after his bond was revoked in an unrelated state case. Officers searched his residence and seized a Taurus .38-caliber revolver, a Fox 16-gauge sawed-off shotgun with an obliterated serial number, a plastic bag that contained 284.63 grams of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

 

According to court documents, Gross has six prior drug-related offenses, several stealing related offenses, an assault, and has been convicted several times of driving without a license.

 

This case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jody Larison. It was investigated by the Strafford, Mo., Police Department, the Combined Ozarks Multijurisdictional Enforcement Team (COMET), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

 

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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, is available on-line at

 

http://www.justice.gov/wdmo

 

Twitter:

@USAO_WDMO

 

Facebook:

http://www.Facebook.com/USAOMOW

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