Springfield man gets 15-year prison sentence for meth conspiracy

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A Springfield, Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court on Monday, July 16, for participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in both Greene and Polk County and illegally possessing five firearms.

61-year-old Jeffrey S. Durbray was sentenced by a Chief U.S. District Judge to 15 years in federal prison without parole.

Durbray pleaded guilty on Dec. 19, 2023, to one count of conspiracy to distribute meth and one count of possessing firearms to further a drug-trafficking crime. He admitted to distributing methamphetamine in Greene and Polk counties from March 5 to Oct. 10, 2019, and also admitted to owning five firearms in furtherance of the drug-trafficking conspiracy.

Court documents state that Durbray is responsible for providing more than six kilograms of methamphetamine to the Springfield area.

In April 2019, a confidential informant conducted two controlled methamphetamine purchases from Durbray.

On April 24, 2019, a Chevrolet Malibu with Durbray as a passenger was stopped by a Greene County deputy because of a missing front license plate. The deputy searched the vehicle and found two firearms hidden behind a panel under the dash, $2,003 in cash and four cell phones. In the trunk, the deputy found meth, cocaine, a third firearm and $2,050 in cash. Durbray admitted to owning the meth and the cash.

Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Durbray’s home on Oct. 10, 2019, where they found a semi-automatic pistol, ammunition and 681.6 grams of meth. Officers also searched an RV and white Subaru at the residence, finding two revolvers, two semi-automatic pistols, ammunition and $3,824 in cash. Finally, officers searched Durbray and found a Taser, a bubble pipe, two cell phones and $10,790 in cash.

Durbray’s plea agreement orders him to forfeit the $14,614 seized at his residence by law enforcement to the government as well as any interest in the $4,053 seized by law enforcement during the traffic stop in April 2019.

Durbray was on parole for two prior drug trafficking convictions when the federal offense occurred.

Durbray is the fourth and final defendant to be sentenced in this case.

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