CAPE GIRARDEAU – The United States Attorney’s Office announced that 27-year-old Samuel D. Moore of Poplar Bluff has been sentenced to serve 120 months (10 years) in federal prison after pleading guilty to drug-trafficking and firearm related charges.
Moore appeared for his sentencing hearing Thursday before United States District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr. at the federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau.
According to court documents, law enforcement officers were dispatched to Moore’s residence in Poplar Bluff last July in response to a reported domestic assault.
Officers obtained a search warrant for the premises after observing multiple firearms and drug paraphernalia items inside the residence.
Large quantities of various controlled substances were subsequently discovered inside Moore’s Chevy Tahoe, including a box containing 30 pounds of marijuana divided into one-pound bags. Inside that same box, officers found a 9mm semi-automatic pistol with an attached 50-round high-capacity drum magazine.
At his guilty plea hearing last November, Moore admitted that he intended to sell the marijuana for profit and that he possessed the firearm in furtherance of his drug-trafficking activities.
After serving the 10-year sentence, Moore will be placed on supervised release for three years.
Felony state charges for domestic assault remain pending in the Circuit Court of Butler County, Missouri. As in all criminal cases, Moore is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Butler County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Jack Koester handled the prosecution for the Government.