Probation granted on Joplin man's burglary, weapon, drug offenses

Dec. 6—A 28-year-old defendant was granted suspended sentences and probation when he entered an Alford plea Monday on three of five felony counts that he was facing.

Tanner L. Enochs entered the plea in Jasper County Circuit Court on counts of possession of a controlled substance and unlawful use of a weapon in connection with an arrest on July 31, 2020, and to second-degree burglary related to a break-in Jan. 6, 2020, at Sutherlands Building Material business in Joplin.

Felony counts of attempted theft of a motor vehicle and property damage related to the Sutherlands burglary were dismissed in the defendant's plea deal. An Alford plea admits no guilt but acknowledges the probability of a conviction if the matter were to proceed to trial.

Judge Dean Dankelson accepted the plea agreement and assessed Enochs terms of five years each on the possession and burglary counts and four years on the weapon conviction with execution of the sentences suspended and the defendant placed on supervised probation for five years.

Enochs was also ordered to pay $2,802 in restitution for items stolen and property damaged in the Sutherlands break-in.

Police arrested him on the drug and weapon charges when an officer and a detective attempting to serve bench warrants on him located him in his backyard on North Oak Avenue in possession of a loaded handgun and 12.5 grams of methamphetamine.