SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A Vietnamese national with no known U.S. address but a long criminal history was sentenced in federal court in Springfield, Missouri, this week to more than 14 years in prison for convictions stemming from a 2020 incident when he was caught with a stolen pistol and more than half a pound of methamphetamine.
Hon Chau, 44, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool on Monday, Feb. 13, to 14 years and two months in federal prison without parole. On Aug. 16, 2022, Chau pleaded guilty to one count of possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
Chau was arrested on Feb. 27, 2020, when he drove a Chrysler 200 and parked in the driveway of a Springfield residence while law enforcement offices were executing a search warrant. Officers ordered Chau to get out of his vehicle, but he refused, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri.
Instead, Chau backed his vehicle into the officers’ vehicles parked behind him. Officers broke out the driver’s side window and attempted to remove Chau from his vehicle, but Chau continued to resist and reach towards his right hip. Officers used a Taser and were able to get him out of the vehicle. Chau had a loaded IMEZ .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol, which had been reported stolen, in a holster on his right hip.
Chau had a baggie that contained 287 grams, or more than 10 ounces, of pure methamphetamine inside his sweater pocket, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and officers found $6,943 in cash inside Chau’s vehicle. Chau, who had a dozen prior state felony convictions prior to this federal case, had been released from the Missouri Department of Corrections less than a year earlier.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica R. Eatmon. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Springfield Police Department.
