Guilty plea entered in cocaine case

Local runners show support for Boston in cross-country relay

After completing the Boston Marathon on April 15, Ashleigh Beyersdorfer made her way through the throngs of runners to retrieve the bag she had checked in and was on her way to meet up with her family when she heard the explosions.

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August 8, 2012

Guilty plea entered in cocaine case

The Joplin Globe Wed Aug 08, 2012, 11:38 PM CDT

A Joplin man has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge in a drug trafficking case and will be sentenced in September.

Jose L. DeLeon, 33, pleaded guilty at a hearing this week in Jasper County Circuit Court to a charge of felony possession of cocaine.

A plea deal with the prosecutor’s office would limit the prison time he might be assessed to five years. He had been facing a charge of second-degree trafficking in drugs, which carries five to 15 years in prison.

Circuit Judge Gayle Crane delayed formal action on the plea bargain and ordered the completion of a sentencing-assessment report. She set DeLeon’s sentencing hearing for Sept. 24.

The Jasper County Drug Task Force stopped and arrested the defendant Aug. 31, 2011, after he was observed leaving a home for which task force members had obtained a search warrant, according to a probable-cause affidavit.

A search of his vehicle turned up a bag containing just more than 4 ounces of cocaine, the affidavit states.

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