KC Reporter

A Springfield, Missouri man, James D. Elbert, 42, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole for his involvement in a conspiracy to distribute heroin in Greene County. The sentence was handed down by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips. Elbert pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin on July 5, 2023, admitting to distributing at least 100 grams of heroin in Greene County between October 2, 2015, and November 13, 2017. He acknowledged selling a total of 6.86 grams of heroin to an undercover informant on three separate occasions in Springfield. Elbert is the final defendant to be sentenced in this case. The prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Randall D. Eggert and Cameron A. Beaver, with involvement from multiple law enforcement agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Springfield Police Department, the Greene County Sheriff’s Department, and the Ozark Police Department.