A Springfield man was sentenced in federal court Oct. 3 for leading a large heroin trafficking organization with his wife.
Larry K. Hayward, 40, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 20 years in federal prison without the possibility of parole.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri, Hayward was convicted at trial in 2022 of one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin, three counts of distributing heroin, and one count of possessing heroin with the intent to distribute.
According to evidence introduced during the trial, Hayward and his wife, Jasmine D. Steed, 36, were co-leaders of a criminal organization that distributed heroin in the Springfield community from approximately Nov. 15, 2016, to Oct. 17, 2018.
Court documents “conservatively” estimate they distributed at least three kilograms of heroin during that nearly two-year period. Hayward and Steed obtained heroin from a source in Chicago. They sold heroin themselves and recruited others to help distribute heroin, according to the release.
More on the investigation
Law enforcement officers executed search warrants at both of Hayward’s residences in Springfield and in Waynesville, Missouri. At his Waynesville residence, officers found a loaded Sig Sauer .380-caliber pistol, $5,000 in cash, and drug paraphernalia. Steed was present during the search of the Springfield residence, where officers found heroin.
Hayward has four prior felony convictions for possession of a controlled substance and a prior felony conviction for selling cocaine to an undercover officer. He also has a prior felony conviction for burglary, three misdemeanor convictions for possession of drugs, and a conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Hayward is the fifth and final defendant to be sentenced in the cases resulting from this investigation into a heroin selling operation. Steed was sentenced on March 25, 2021, to 16 years and eight months in federal prison without parole. Co-defendants Richard J. Smith, 48, of Springfield, Rashad J. Moore, 31, of Branson, and Damario J. Brown, 33, whose address was unknown, also pleaded guilty and have been sentenced.
