Three Jefferson City men have been charged in federal court following a police chase Friday that resulted in the seizure of a large quantity of methamphetamine.
David E. Rodebaugh, 40, Michael Pearson, 31, and Hernan Hurtado, 23, were charged in separate, but related, criminal complaints filed in the U.S. District Court in Jefferson City on Saturday. All three defendants had their initial court appearances today and remain in federal custody pending detention hearings.
Rodebaugh and Pearson were each charged with one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and one count of participating in a conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. Hurtado was charged with one count of distributing methamphetamine.
According to affidavits filed in support of the federal criminal complaints, law enforcement officers were conducting surveillance of Rodebaugh on Friday as part of an ongoing drug-trafficking investigation. Rodebaugh and Pearson met with Hurtado in the parking lot at the Capital Mall where Pearson took a plastic bag from the back cab area of Hurtado's pickup and placed it in the back seat of the Acura he and Rodebaugh had driven to the mall.
Pearson drove the Acura, with Rodebaugh in the front passenger seat, as they left the mall. Police attempted to stop Pearson, the affidavit says, but he refused to stop and led officers in pursuit. The Acura was eventually rendered inoperable and Pearson fled on foot. Rodebaugh remained inside the Acura and was detained. Pearson was later located and arrested.
According to the affidavit, law enforcement officers found the plastic bag, which Rodebaugh later admitted he had thrown out the vehicle's window during the pursuit, about 75 yards from where the Acura was stopped. Inside the plastic bag were two large bundles that contained approximately five pounds of methamphetamine.
Later that same afternoon, Hurtado called Jefferson City police to report he had been robbed of $6,000 while at his home. Hurtado voluntarily came to the police station, where he was questioned and arrested.