66 guns and a meth lab found in bedroom of Missouri home

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Bradley J. Schlozman, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Conception Junction, Mo., woman was sentenced in federal court today for participating in a conspiracy with her husband to manufacture methamphetamine. This indictment is the result of work completed by the NITRO Task Force.

Carol J. Wood, 45, of Conception Junction, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan this morning to five years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Wood to forfeit to the government $9,850, which represents proceeds of the conspiracy, and a 1996 Ford Explorer that was used to commit the offense.

On Aug. 24, 2006, Wood and her husband, Mark W. Wood, 48, pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy with each other to manufacture 50 grams or more of methamphetamine between Dec. 18, 2003, and Dec. 18, 2004.

Law enforcement officers discovered a methamphetamine lab in the Woods’ residence and a quantity of pseudoephedrine pills in her vehicle. They also found 66 different firearms in her residence, including a loaded 9 mm semi-automatic handgun in the master bedroom closet where the methamphetamine lab was located. A loaded Norinco SKS 7.62×39 rifle with a bayonet and an AR 7 Explorer .22-caliber rifle were also recovered from the master bedroom. A blue thermos containing $1,750 was found in the closet beside the lab, and an additional $8,100 was found in the master bedroom. Law enforcement officers also found 11 individually wrapped packages of marijuana in the master bedroom.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine A. Connelly. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and NITRO, the Northwest Missouri Team Response Operation. NITRO is a joint law enforcement effort by federal, state and local agencies in the 16-county region.

Source: United States Department of Justice press release dated January 7, 2007