Gary Michael Swofford, 31, was sentenced to five years in federal prison without parole
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On Aug. 25, 2004, Gary Michael Swofford, 31, was sentenced to five years in federal prison without parole. On April 13, 2004, Swofford pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine between Oct. 1, 2002, and Sept. 18, 2003, in Grundy County.
Laurie E. Baker, 21, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ortrie D. Smith to two years in federal prison without parole on Aug. 4. On March 12, 2004, Baker pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. By pleading guilty, she admitted that the conspiracy took place between Oct. 1, 2002, and Sept. 18, 2003, in Grundy County.
Daviess County charges against Lori Baker were dismissed by the Daviess County Prosecuting Attorney on Aug. 24, and charges against Swofford are expected to be dismissed as well. They had both been charged with felonies in Daviess County in September, 2002, in connection with a meth lab discovered on State Highway K, north of Gallatin, on May 29, 2002.
Another co-defendant in the Grundy County case, Stacy Todd Davis, 34, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Ortrie D. Smith Aug. 31, to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine. By pleading guilty, Davis admitted that she conspired with others to manufacture and distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine between Oct. 1, 2002, and Sept. 18, 2003, in Grundy County. Davis is the fourth co-defendant to plead guilty in this case.
On June 28, 2004, Patricia Jean Chipps, 36, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine between Oct. 1, 2002, and Sept. 18, 2003, in Grundy County.
Each of the co-defendants was charged in a sealed indictment returned by a federal grand jury on Sept. 17, 2003, in Kansas City. The indictment was unsealed and made public upon the defendants’ arrest and first appearance in court on Sept. 24, 2003, in Kansas City.
The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Rhoades. It was investigated by the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Trenton Police Department, the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department, the Daviess County Sheriff’s Department and the NITRO Task Force. NITRO is the Northwest Missouri Interagency Team Response Operation, a joint law enforcement effort by the United States Attorney’s Office and federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in the 16-county region.