Nevada man pleads guilty to drug charges, co-defendant awaits local, federal hearings

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

A Nevada man pleaded guilty Tuesday, Feb. 5, to four felony counts and two misdemeanors for illegal drug possession as the result of a Nevada Police Department drug sting operation, which led to two arrests.

Greg Lovewell, 44, was arrested on Aug. 6, 2007, for six felony counts of drug possession and distribution.

Donna Wyzard, 43, was also arrested during the drug sting and charged with seven felony counts and one misdemeanor for the possession and distribution of illegal drugs.

A report filed by Sgt. Casey Crain of the Nevada Police department states that Crain received a call while off duty, from a confidential informant, who stated they were willing and able to make a controlled substance purchase.

After searching the informant and their vehicle, Crain reported supplying the informant with traceable money to make the purchase. Crain reports observing the person entering the residence and exiting with a small clear plastic baggy containing a white crystal substance. The substance field tested positive for methamphetamine.

According to the report, immediately after the drug buy Crain obtained a search warrant for Lovewell's residence to recover the drug buy money and search for further illegal evidence.

During the search, Crain reported Lovewell stating that there were drugs and two firearms in another room of the home. Lovewell, being a convicted felon, acknowledged that he was not to own a firearm but reportedly told Crain they belonged to a friend.

The search conducted at Lovewell's house resulted in the discovery and seizure of; six baggies containing meth, two metal tins filled with marijuana, two syringes (one loaded), a set of digital scales covered with meth, a utility knife with meth on the blade, a folded playing card containing meth, a compact mirror from Wyzard's purse containing meth, a cut down straw next to a ceramic tile with lines of meth on it, two burnt spoons containing meth, pipes containing marijuana residue, one Valium, three Xanax, and two oxycodone.

Following the drug bust Crain measured the distance from Lovewell's residence to the nearest school. The distance was measured at 1,586 feet, from the home to Calvary Christian School. Handling, owning, and distributing drugs out of a home located within 2,000 feet of a school, like Lovewell's, makes the offenses more severe.

Mail, personal items and utility bills confirmed that both Wyzard and Lovewell resided at the home.

During his plea hearing, Lovewell accepted responsibility for four class C felonies of the original six with which he was charged, as part of a plea-bargain. Vernon County Prosecuting Attorney Lynn Ewing III told Circuit Judge James Bickel during the trial that the buy money used by Nevada Police was found to be in the possession of Wyzard not Lovewell at the time of the raid. Therefore, the distribution charges filed against Lovewell were dropped.

Bickel accepted Lovewell's pleas of guilty to the charges and sentenced him to four concurrent 7-year terms in the Missouri Department of Corrections. The execution of this sentence was suspended following the request of Ewing as part of the plea-bargain and Lovewell was sentenced to 5 years supervised probation.

Wyzard is set to appear in Vernon County Circuit Court on Feb. 21 for a motion hearing and preliminary trial regarding her charges. She faces 1 Class A felony for distribution of a controlled substance near a school, 1 Class B felony for possession with intent to distribute, four class C felonies for possession of a controlled substance, one Class C felony for maintaining a public nuisance and one misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia.

The U.S. Attorney's Office also announced on Dec. 7, 2007, that Wyzard along with 10 other co-defendants will face federal charges for the distribution of methamphetamine. Wyzard is being charged with nine counts of distribution of meth and one count of conspiracy to distribute meth. She pleaded not guilty and is currently awaiting trial which is set for July 21. The federal indictment alleges that all of the co-defendants were involved in a conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine from June 26, 2006, to Jan. 19, 2007.

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