Undercover police use wiretap to bust Ozarks heroin ring of a dozen people, feds say

A Springfield heroin ring involving 12 people and at least 2 pounds of the drug has been discovered by investigators, according to federal charging documents.

The documents show an undercover investigation led to the discovery of an alleged ring in which a dozen people distributed at least 1,000 grams of a substance containing “a detectable amount of heroin.” They were indicted in June, records show.

The alleged conspirators face up to life imprisonment and a $10 million fine for the first count of the charges, court documents show. Together, the defendants face an additional 13 counts.

Those charged are: Jovan Denson, Gerald Pope, Edward Smith, Claude Davis, Brian Brown, Amy Mitchell, Christine Jones, Corbin Rice, Benjamin Goodman, Earl Jones, Deanna Miller and Ceirra Nash.

They conspired to distribute heroin dating back to at least March 1, 2016, records show.

Investigators used a wiretap to gather information in their probe, the Springfield News-Leader reported and the documents indicate.

In May, a search warrant was executed at Denson’s home. An officer with the Drug Enforcement Administration and Springfield police wrote in a charging document that he discovered items used in the “mixing and cutting of heroin,” as well as scales and baggies used in the drug’s distribution.

In bushes outside the home, more than 460 grams of a substance that tested positive for heroin was also found.

Denson has multiple prior convictions, including for sexual abuse and weapons possession, records show.

One defendant told investigators that a client of his died of a drug overdose.

“Goodman also said that he had sold heroin to an individual who then died of a drug overdose as a result of the use of morphine and fentanyl” in February, an investigator wrote.

Two defendants, Corbin Rice and Brian Brown, have pleaded guilty within the last two months, according to the records.

This story was originally published December 7, 2017 at 3:11 PM with the headline "Undercover police use wiretap to bust Ozarks heroin ring of a dozen people, feds say."