Man from Texas Sentenced for Drug Trafficking in the Ozarks

A Texas native has been sentenced in Springfield for drug trafficking in Southwest Missouri.

Court documents show Tanner Houghton, 41, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.

Authorities tracked Houghton to a hotel in Branson West and surveilled him as he drove to a convenience store in Reeds Spring. Officers then attempted a traffic stop of Houghton.

Houghton tried to flee the scene, and even backed into a patrol car that was blocking the store’s exit.

Once police got Houghton and another suspect, 35-year-old Brittany Brannan, out of the vehicle, they conducted a search of the car’s contents.

Officers found multiple firearms, a large amount of ammunition, as well as nearly 300 grams of methamphetamine, over 100 fentanyl tablets and 40 grams of heroin.

Houghton’s 25 year prison sentence will be conducted without the possibility of parole.