Missouri Man Sentenced For Crack Cocaine, Illegal Firearm

DEC 6 -- (Jefferson City, MO)– John F. Wood, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Jefferson City, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for illegally possessing crack cocaine and a firearm.

Brandon L. Whitehead, 29, of Jefferson City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Scott O. Wright on Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2007, to 10 years in federal prison without parole.

On Jan. 8, 2007, Whitehead pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Whitehead admitted that he was in possession of a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun on July 26, 2006. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Whitehead has two criminal felony convictions in 2000 for possession of a controlled substance and forgery, and a 2001 criminal felony conviction for possession of a controlled substance.

Whitehead also pleaded guilty to possessing with the intent to distribute five grams or more of crack cocaine. Law enforcement officers arrested Whitehead at his residence on July 26, 2006. In a search of his residence, they recovered 20.2 grams of crack cocaine wrapped in a plastic baggie inside a pair of blue jeans shorts next to the bed.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Lynn. It was investigated by the Jefferson City, Mo., Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Cole County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, MUSTANG (the Mid-Missouri Unified Strike Team And Narcotics Group) and the Drug Enforcement Administration.