Poplar Bluff Man Sentenced for Methamphetamine Distribution

Butler Co., Mo. (KFMO) - A Poplar Bluff man, 40-year-old Lonnie C. Hamilton, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after trying to sell methamphetamine shortly after he was released from prison.

Information from the United States Attorny's office shows Hamilton pled guilty in December to one felony count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. His plea says on May 16, 2023, a Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force officer was approached by someone who said Hamilton tried to sell him an ounce of meth on the street. The officer found Hamilton, who removed a baggie containing meth from his pocket, admitted that the substance was methamphetamine, and further admitted he had recently been released from prison.

Hamilton said an acquaintance gave him two ounces of methamphetamine to sell so that he could make some money, adding he’d used some and intended to sell the rest. Hamilton was caught with about 48 grams, or roughly 1.7 ounces, of the drug.

Due to Hamilton's two prior felony convictions, of either a crime of violence or a drug offense, Hamilton qualified as a “career offender.”