Federal grand jury indicts Dr. John Joseph on weapons charge

A federal grand jury indicted Joplin dentist John Joseph today on a charge of illegal transport of firearms.

Federal agents took Joseph into custody and that's where the U. S. Attorney's office would like him to stay.

In a detention motion filed in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Assistant U. S. Attorney Hannah Lucas asked that Joseph be held without bond to make sure that he shows up for court dates and for the safety of the community.

The defendant presents a danger to the community based on his crippling fentanyl addiction. In this case, the defendant was arrested after purchasing 11 grams of fentanyl and was found to be in possession of a stolen firearm.

Joseph's indictment came as a result of his March 5, 2025 arrest by the Joplin Police Department, which led to charges of drug trafficking and unlawful use of a weapon.

The Joplin Police Department arrested Joseph after detectives saw him make what is described in the probable cause statement as "a hand-to-hand narcotic transaction after getting out of a pickup truck."

From the probable cause statement:

Joseph was detained after getting back into his truck and searched. During the search, a large package of a substance, believed to be fentanyl, was located in his pocket. This package was later found to weigh 11 grams.

A search was then conducted of Joseph's 2022 Ram pickup truck where I located approximately one gram of fentanyl, multiple items of drug paraphernalia consistent with the ingestion of fentanyl and an H&K 9mm pistol.

Joseph stated under Miranda that he provided $600 for {the} package located in his pocket.

The H&K pistol was later found to have been reported as stolen from a residence in Joplin in 2016.