Feds assume prosecution of rural Neosho man's meth trafficking case

Dec. 6—NEOSHO, Mo. — The Newton County prosecutor's office has dismissed state drug and assault charges on a rural Neosho man in light of his recent indictment by a federal grand jury.

Jacob L. Williams, 36, was scheduled for a preliminary hearing Monday in Newton County Circuit Court on drug trafficking and assault charges incurred in February and March of this year.

Those charges were dismissed in light of an indictment of Williams handed up Oct. 4 in U.S. District Court in Springfield. Williams was charged with possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine.

He had been facing two counts of first-degree trafficking in drugs in Newton County as well as counts of second-degree assault and resisting arrest. The federal case pertains to the first of two arrests for trafficking in meth made by Newton County deputies Feb. 10 and March 7.

The February arrest stems from traffic stop during which the defendant was found in possession of 123.4 grams of meth, according to a probable-cause affidavit. A second affidavit stated he was nabbed with another 465 grams of the drug in a March 7 traffic stop after a vehicle pursuit.

Williams also had been charged with second-degree assault after purportedly hitting a woman in the face with a metal pipe March 25 when she attempted to stop him from setting a trailer on fire, according to a third affidavit that had been filed with the court.