MICHAEL WAYNE BOWMAN, d/o/b 8-31-1982, of Hollister, was sentenced on Thursday, December 17, 2015, to eight (8) years in prison for two (2) separate incidents of possession of drugs. Bowman appeared in the Circuit Court of Taney County, Missouri, before Judge Eric Eighmy, and entered pleas of guilty to four (4) total counts of the class C felony of possession of a controlled substance. Judge Eighmy sentenced Bowman to concurrent sentences of eight (8) years in the Missouri Department of Corrections, pursuant to a plea agreement with the Taney County Prosecutor’s Office.

Bowman was arrested on October 2, 2014, by the Missouri State Highway Patrol for suspicion of possession of methamphetamine, following a routine traffic stop for expired registration. While lab testing was being done on the drugs seized during that arrest, Bowman was arrested by Branson Police on January 7, 2015, for outstanding warrants. While being booked into the jail, Bowman was discovered to be in possession of multiple controlled substances. On Thursday, December 17, 2015, Bowman pleaded guilty to two (2) counts of possession of methamphetamine, one (1) count of possession of hydrocodone, and one (1) count of possession of methadone, receiving eight (8) year sentences on each.

Bowman’s sentences will run concurrently with one another, as well as concurrently with a seven (7) year prison sentence he received for felony driving while license revoked. Normally the maximum sentence for the class C felony of possession of a controlled substance is seven (7) years in prison, however, the Taney County Prosecutor’s Office had charged Bowman as a prior and persistent felony offender – for having multiple prior felony convictions.