Protem man pleads guilty to possession

Jeffrey Loveall, of Protem, pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance during the Oct. 8 session of Ozark County Circuit Court. He was sentenced to seven years in the Missouri Department of Corrections, SES, five years probation and ordered to successfully complete Taney County Drug Court.

Pursuant to a plea agreement charges of unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia with prior drug offense and driving while revoked/suspended were dismissed.

According to the probable cause statement, prepared by Ozark County Sheriff’s Lt. Matt Rhoades, at 7:50 p.m. July 11, 2024, the officer saw a black Chevy Impala traveling down Highway 160 in Theodosia with license plates that came back to a 1997 Ford Ranger. He stopped the vehicle, and Loveall was in the driver’s seat. He had a suspended driver’s license, and the Impala he was driving was not registered and did not have insurance, the report says. 

When Rhoades asked if there was anything illegal in the vehicle, he reportedly said there was a meth pipe in the driver’s side floorboard of the car under some cardboard. Rhoades found the pipe, which field-tested positive for meth.