Government recommends 9-year sentence for Neosho man on meth, weapons charges

Citing a history of violent crime and lack of respect for the law, the U. S. Attorney's office is recommending a nine-year sentence for a Neosho man on meth possession and weapons charges.

Jacob Wayne Norris, 32, is scheduled to be 1:45 p.m. August 1 in Springfield.

The government's reasons for wanting a longer sentence than usual for Norris were detailed in a sentencing memorandum filed today in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

On October 2, 2020, law enforcement executed a search warrant at the defendant’s residence and located nearly 500 grams of methamphetamine and seven firearms.

One of the firearms, a .380 caliber pistol, was found loaded and chambered in the defendant’s northwest bedroom, in close proximity to a small amount of methamphetamine and just across the hall from where law enforcement located more than 475 grams of methamphetamine in a piano bench.  

Several days later, law enforcement executed a second search warrant at the defendant’s home after he indicated in a jail call that there was a cubby hole in his bedroom that law enforcement did not locate, and, according to the defendant, “there’s a couple more felonies in there”

Upon executing the second search warrant, in a cubby hole behind a piece of trim next to the defendant’s closet, law enforcement located a bag of spoonwash methamphetamine, glass pipes, and a Suboxone strip. 

In total, the defendant is being held accountable for 481 grams of methamphetamine, while also possessing seven firearms. 

The defendant will be 32 years old when he appears before the Court for sentencing. Despite his young age, and his lack of criminal convictions, the defendant’s prior criminal activity has been significant. 

Violent, assaultive behavior and public safety crimes litter his criminal history. While he is scored as a criminal history category of III with only four criminal history points, the Government would argue that his criminal history is underrepresented. 

At the time he committed the instant offense, the defendant had at least four pending assault cases in the Circuit Court of Newton County, Missouri. 

Additionally, approximately two months after the instant offense and prior to his indictment in this case, he was arrested for felony resisting arrest and third-degree assault on a special victim, wherein he resisted arrest by punching and kicking at law enforcement officers.

 

Such an egregious and extensive arrest history is not representative of a person being sentenced as a criminal history category of III, and the Government believes the defendant’s proclivity for violence and his blatant disregard for the rule of law serve as aggravators in this case. 

The Government recognizes that the recommended sentence is significant. Nonetheless, the defendant’s actions now and in the past have demonstrated that he has no respect for the law, and he will continue to violate it as he sees fit. He has demonstrated a disregard for others, assaulting and resisting anyone who attempts to stand in his way. 

Such actions also demonstrate that the defendant is a danger to community, and the Government’s recommended sentence is what is necessary