Joplin businessman pleads guilty to meth trafficking, weapons charges

During a hearing today in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, a Joplin businessman pleaded guilty to his role in a meth trafficking conspiracy and a weapons charge.

Judge Douglas Harpool ordered a pre-sentence investigation for Joshua Davenport, 40, owner of Davenport Auto Sales, who was one of four people indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2021, including Rita Michelle Glasgow, 31, Joplin, William D. Johnson, 47, Joplin, and Douglas S. Ward, 33. No date has been scheduled for the sentencing.

 According to the plea agreement, Johnson obtained large quantities of methamphetamine from a source in California and distributed the meth to others, including Davenport, who then provided the meth to others, including Glasgow. 

Davenport also possessed a weapon while committing that crime, according to the agreement that indicates the steps law enforcement officers took to unravel the conspiracy.

June 12, 2019, Johnson traffic stop

Joplin Police Department Det. Dustin Moyer conducted a traffic stop June 12, 2019, of Johnson, who had $16,000 in cash and 90.3 grams of meth. Johnson told the police he was working for Davenport as a car salesman.

July 2, 2019, Glasgow traffic stop

JPD Officer Caleb Johnson was patrolling the parking lot of Love's Travel Stop July 2, 2019, when he spotted a maroon GMC Yukon "bearing two different license plates, neither of which checked back to the vehicle. Glasgow, who was standing beside the vehicle, told the officer the vehicle belonged to Davenport and his business, Davenport Auto Sales.

A subsequent search uncovered 67,78 grams of meth.

July 30, 2019, Davenport traffic stop

Davenport and his wife were stopped on I-40 in Apache County, Arizona for a window tint violation.

"During a consent search of the vehicle Davenport was driving, officers located and seized five-and-a-half pounds of methamphetamine and a 40 caliber Taurus handgun. During a post-Miranda interview, Davenport admitted that he had picked up the methamphetamine from a locker in Las Vegas."

September 6, 2019, Davenport traffic stop

An informant told the Ozarks Drug Enforcement Team that Davenport was traveling to a location in Springfield to pick up meth for Johnson. The FBI was contacted and brought in the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

A trooper spotted Davenport's vehicle and pulled him over for speeding. The trooper asked Davenport if he had ever been arrested and Davenport acknowledged he had been arrested with meth in Arizona. The trooper asked for Daventport's consent to search the car.

"No, sir," Davenport said, according to the plea agreement. "I just got that car and I don't know anything about the car."

A Springfield Police Department K9 officer was brought in and his dog. The subsequent search uncovered a stolen gun and two plastic bags in a panel in the trunk that contained 223.3 grams of meth.

The minimum sentence Davenport can receive is 10 years. In the agreement, the government said Davenport has taken responsibility for his actions.