Joplin man ordered held without bond on meth charge

A Joplin man waived the reading of his indictment and pleaded not guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

During a hearing in U. S. District Court in Springfield this morning, Judge David P. Rush ordered Benjamin Ray Nordby, 42, held without bond while awaiting trial.

Nordby's attorney did not contest the government's detention motion.

Nordby, who recently moved to Joplin from Oklahoma, is a member of a prison gang, the Universal Aryan Brotherhood, according to the probable cause statement and had been identified by the DEA in Tulsa as a retail supplier and distributer of methamphetamine.

The Joplin Police Department arrested him following a traffic stop Monday at 2000 W. 7th when 224 grams of meth were found in his vehicle.