Source: Office of United States Attorneys
CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Stephen n. Limbaugh Jr. on Thursday sentenced a man caught with a fully automatic handgun and methamphetamine to 10 years in prison.
On August 16, 2022, officers with the United States Marshals Service, the Dunklin County Sheriff’s Office and the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force located Darius R. Clark at a home in Kennett, Missouri. Clark had two backpacks at the time of his arrest. One contained a Glock .40-caliber pistol that had been equipped with a selector switch that converted it into a fully automatic weapon. The firearm was fully loaded and there were additional magazines in the backpack, including an extended capacity magazine that was loaded with 20 rounds of ammunition. The backpack also contained $1,120 in cash. The second backpack contained 84 multicolored tablets containing methamphetamine and 17 tablets containing a mix of meth and other controlled substances.
Clark, 36, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty in September to one count of possession of a machine gun.
Clark’s arrest warrant was triggered by charges of first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, two weeks before his arrest, according to a sentencing memo. Clark will now be returned to Oklahoma.
The United States Marshals Service, the Dunklin County Sheriff’s Office and the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hunter prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.