A Jefferson City man pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to his role in a conspiracy that distributed multiple pounds of methamphetamine.
Jasper Jarrard Richmond, 25, of Jefferson City, pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Cole County from July 22, 2015, to Oct. 6, 2016.
Richmond was arrested Oct. 6, 2016, while driving back from Oklahoma City, where he had picked up a pound of methamphetamine to distribute locally.
Richmond admitted he had wanted to help co-defendant Jameson Trevor Smith, 28, of Lake Ozark, pay a drug debt. Smith had been arrested with 2 pounds of methamphetamine in his possession. As a result, they owed their suppliers approximately $70,000.
Richmond admitted he had started to transport methamphetamine from St. Louis for an organization after his release from prison in summer 2015. In 2015, Richmond estimated he had transported approximately 4 pounds of methamphetamine during that time. Of that amount, he received approximately 1 pound to distribute himself.
Richmond asked Smith, whom he had met in prison, to assist him with the distribution of methamphetamine. In summer 2016, Richmond made another trip to St. Louis and obtained approximately 5 pounds of methamphetamine, of which he and Smith distributed approximately 2 pounds.
Smith pleaded guilty to his role in the drug-trafficking conspiracy and was sentenced in June to 10 years in federal prison without parole.
Under federal statutes, Richmond is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of pre-sentence investigations by the U.S. Probation Office.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Mid-Missouri Unified Strike Team and Narcotics Group (Mustang), the Cole County Sheriff's Department, the Jefferson City Police Department and the Missouri Highway Patrol.