NEWS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

MATT J. WHITWORTH

Contact Don Ledford, Public Affairs ● (816) 426-4220 ● 400 East Ninth Street, Room 5510 ● Kansas City, MO 64106

www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/index.html

SEPTEMBER 2, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JURY CONVICTS JOPLIN WOMAN OF METH CONSPIRACY

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Matt J. Whitworth, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Joplin, Mo., woman was convicted by a federal jury today of participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Jasper County, Mo.

Luz Barron, 47, of Joplin, was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of a substance containing methamphetamine between Feb. 23 and April 6, 2009. Two co-defendants remain fugitives from justice.

Barron was recorded by law enforcement officers on March 18, 2009, making telephone calls to broker a methamphetamine sale in Oklahoma City, Okla. Subsequently, on April 2, 2009, she was recorded receiving $1,500 for her role in that transaction. A few days later, on April 6, 2009, Barron was videotaped participating in the sale of a half-pound of methamphetamine for $5,000.00 in Oklahoma City.

Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Springfield deliberated about an hour before returning the guilty verdict to U.S. District Judge Richard E. Dorr, ending a trial that began Monday, Aug. 31, 2009.

Under federal statutes, Barron is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison without parole, up to 40 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $2 million. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gary K. Milligan and David Rush. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Joplin County Drug Task Force, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and the Southwest Drug Task Force.

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