Although Missouri voters approved recreational marijuana in November 2022, possessing marijuana is still a federal crime. Because of that, federal prosecutors were able to convict two Springfield defendants and get several guns off the street.
The fact that the defendants were smoking marijuana made it possible to charge them with the crime of being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of firearms.
They admitted they were using marijuana on two separate dates in 2022, prior to the November 2022 vote to legalize the drug under Missouri law.
The controlled substance in this case was marijuana, said Don Ledford, spokesman for the United States Attorney's office for the Western District of Missouri.
A 20-year-old Springfield man, Ezekiel Josiah King, pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of firearms.
Co-defendant Jardell Carlin Williams, 20, pleaded guilty on May 16 to two counts of being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of firearms.
Riding in a car with guns
King admitted he was in possession in February 2022 of a loaded Glock .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol with an extended magazine that contained 29 rounds, and an Anderson AM-15 multi-caliber rifle, loaded with 31 rounds of .223-caliber ammunition.
King was driving a gold Nissan Altima that was stopped by Springfield police detectives. In addition to the guns, detectives found another extended magazine and two factory Glock magazines under the driver’s seat.
Williams, a passenger, admitted he had a Glock .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol. Detectives also located two more boxes of ammunition in the front floorboard.
Williams also admitted that he was in possession of a C3 Defense 5.56-caliber semi-automatic pistol when a vehicle, in which he was a passenger, was stopped by law enforcement agents in October 2022.
The C3 Defense AR-style pistol was believed to have been used in three shooting incidents in the Kansas City area.
Possession of this weaponry would have been legal, if not for the marijuana use.
By federal law, King is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole. Williams is subject to a sentence of up to 25 years in federal prison without parole.
A sentencing hearing for Williams is scheduled for Feb. 5.
King’s 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. Attorney Stephanie L. Wan. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Greene County Sheriff’s office and the Springfield Police Department.
