Meth Ring Busted in Jefferson City

Three Jefferson City men have been charged with distributing methamphetamine after a police chase resulted in the seizure of a large quantity of the highly addictive substance.

David E. Rodebaugh, 40, Michael Pearson, 31, and Hernan Hurtado, 23, all of Jefferson City, were charged in separate, but related, criminal complaints filed in the U.S. District Court in Jefferson City, Mo., on Saturday, February 14, 2015.

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, February 13, 2015 as part of an ongoing drug-trafficking investigation.

The investigation led to a meeting between Rodebaugh and Pearson with Hurtado in the parking lot at the Capital Mall in Jefferson City, 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.

After a high-speed chase, 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.

Inside the plastic bag were two large bundles that contained approximately five pounds of methamphetamine. Later that same afternoon, Hurtado called the Jefferson City Police Department to report he had been robbed of $6,000 while at his home in Jefferson City.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Lynn. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and MUSTANG (the Mid-Missouri Unified Strike Team and Narcotics Group).

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