SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Marshfield man was sentenced in federal court for illegal possession of a firearm and methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.

Kyle R. Evans, 34, was sentenced to 21 years and 10 months in federal prison without parole.

According to a press release from the Department of Justice, on May 23, 2022, Evans pleaded guilty to one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The release stated on June 18, 2017, a Greene County sheriff’s deputy saw Evans speeding and driving erratically on a motorcycle on West Bypass near Nichols Street. Evans turned the corner from Eldon Street onto Nichols Street at a high speed and slid into a Ford pickup truck.

The deputy saw a firearm lying on the road near where Evans was laying.

The deputy detained Evans and found $1,000 in one pocket, $633 in another pocket and a nylon pistol holder tucked into his front waistband.

Officers also found a motorcycle bag that contained several baggies with a total of five grams of methamphetamine, as well as drug paraphernalia.

According to the press release, Evans has prior felony convictions for domestic assault, assaulting a law enforcement officer, possessing a chemical with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine, distributing a controlled substance, assault, armed criminal action, tampering with a motor vehicle, unlawfully possessing a firearm, and conspiracy to tamper with a witness in a felony prosecution.

Court documents said Evans fled from officers twice in 2017, once in August and then in September. Both events resulted in police finding a firearm.

On November 16, 2017, Evans was convicted of shooting a victim and motorcycle theft in Greene County and was sentenced to 20 years in state prison.

Evans is also serving a 15-year state sentence after pleading guilty to distributing a controlled substance in Webster County, Mo., and also will serve that sentence concurrently to the sentence in this federal case.

During his time in state prison, according to court documents, Evans joined a violent prison gang, the Southwest Honkys. During a drug investigation involving members of the Honkys in 2017, Evans was caught on a wire threatening to harm an individual he believed had cooperated with police.