Joplin Honky sentenced to 24 years on meth trafficking charge

A member of the Joplin Honkys gang was sentenced to 24 years in prison on a meth distribution conspiracy charge during a hearing this morning in U. S. District Court in Springfield.

The sentence was less than the 30 years the government recommended for Jason A. Russell, 33, in a memorandum filed May 13.

Russell was sentenced for crimes that occurred between April 2019 and February 2021. His co-defendant, Brittany J. Adcock, 29, Neosho was sentenced to 10 years May 10.

In the sentencing memorandum, the government asked for the 30-year sentence for Russell because of his long criminal history and record of violence.

This defendant has never demonstrated that he can or that he desires to be a productive and law-abiding member of society. This defendant is a violent individual, who is a constant danger to the community, who desperately needs to be deterred, and who has absolutely no respect for the law.

A sentence of 360 months is a sentence that punishes him for the crime he committed here and meets the other goals of sentencing.

After Russell completes his sentence, he will be under supervised probation for five years.