United States Drug Enforcement Administration

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield man pled guilty in federal court today to his role in a conspiracy that distributed at least 15 kilograms of methamphetamine in a three-county area.

Jason L. Thomas, 42, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

The Drug Enforcement Administration St. Louis Division investigated the case, along with the Springfield Police Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Cass County, Missouri, Sheriff’s Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

By pleading guilty today, Thomas admitted that he participated in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Cass, Greene, and Miller counties from May 14, 2017, to June 20, 2018. Thomas received methamphetamine to distribute from co-conspirator Christina E. Gauger, 39, of Springfield.

According to today’s plea agreement, Gauger was obtaining at least one pound of methamphetamine for distribution every week of the conspiracy. Investigators seized approximately 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine during the investigation.

Thomas is the fifth defendant to plead guilty in this case. Gauger, Robin L. Self, 37, and Jordan H. Williamson, 31, both of Springfield, have pleaded guilty and await sentencing. Jacob B. Piatchek, 26, of Springfield, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years in federal prison without parole.

Under federal statutes, Thomas is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.