75-year-old from Willard pleads guilty to meth conspiracy
A Willard man pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Read the full press release below:
Lyndall Clarence Shive, 75, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine since Feb. 9, 2016.
The government asserts in today’s plea agreement that Shive is responsible for possessing more than 5.4 kilograms of methamphetamine during the conspiracy. Shive, who was on parole for first degree robbery and drug distribution at the time, was stopped by law enforcement officers in West Plains, Mo., on Dec. 14, 2016. A state trooper searched his vehicle and found three individual bags of methamphetamine that weighed approximately an ounce each, for a total of 82.91 grams of methamphetamine.
On Dec. 27, 2016, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the former Elkland, Mo., residence of co-defendant Dallas Ray Pendergrass, 71, now a resident of Willard. Officers seized approximately 25 pounds of marijuana and approximately six pounds of methamphetamine. Pendergrass admitted that Shive was his source for obtaining the methamphetamine. Pendergrass said he had been getting approximately one to two ounces of methamphetamine a week from Shive for approximately the past year (approximately 52 ounces or 1.474 kilograms). Pendergrass said he was paying $850 per ounce.
Pendergrass pleaded guilty to his role in the drug-trafficking conspiracy on Nov. 27, 2018. In a separate but related case, Phillip Duane George, 32, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15 years and two months in federal prison without parole.
Under federal statutes, Shive 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.