A Springfield man was sentenced in federal court Tuesday in two separate criminal cases, for drug trafficking and fatally shooting another person.

U.S. District Judge Brian Wimes sentenced Austin Ball, 31, to 25 years in prison without parole.

In April, Ball pleaded guilty to attempting to distribute marijuana and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking offense.

In a separate case, Ball also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

Ball admitted he went to a local gas station April 19, 2020 to distribute marijuana and after he arrived, he saw a person approach his vehicle.

He feared the individual was going to rob him so he fired a .380-caliber firearm at the person through his driver’s side window. A bullet struck the individual, who died later that day.

A search warrant executed at Ball’s residence led to discovery of the firearm Ball used in the homicide. The victim was not identified in a Tuesday news release.

In the separate case, Ball admitted that he participated in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine from April 19, 2017, to Oct. 2, 2019.

He admitted to being in possession of 62 grams of methamphetamine, some clonazepam, alprazolam, $872 in cash, and three cell phones when he was stopped by a Springfield police officer while driving a motorcycle in April 2018.

Ball is the sixth defendant to be sentenced in the second case. Two co-defendants have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.

These cases were prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall Eggert and Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron Beaver. They were investigated by Springfield police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.