Milton Tyron McGruder, Methamphetamine Possession, Missouri 2017

A Columbia, Missouri man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for possessing nearly a kilogram of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, authorities said.

Milton Tyron McGruder, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 10 years in federal prison without parole after his wife returned a rental vehicle with nearly a kilogram of methamphetamine in the trunk.

On August 4, 2017, employees at Enterprise Rent-a-Car in Columbia found a black toiletry bag in the back trunk area of a GMC Yukon that had been returned by McGruder’s wife. Inside the bag was a vacuum-sealed Ziploc bag that contained approximately 934 grams of methamphetamine.

McGruder and his wife came to Enterprise and acted as if they wanted to rent another vehicle. An Enterprise employee accompanied them outside to show them another vehicle; however, McGruder went straight to the Yukon and proceeded to search it. McGruder went back inside and asked an employee if they had found a small black toiletry bag. When told that no such bag had been found, McGruder and his wife left Enterprise without renting another vehicle.

McGruder returned while police officers were speaking with Enterprise employees, and he was arrested. He told officers that his wife had returned the car while he was still asleep. After a drug canine alerted to the vehicle driven by McGruder, officers searched it and found a loaded SCCY, CPX-2 9mm pistol, nine Adderall pills, marijuana, methamphetamine, and assorted cell phones.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Lynn. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Columbia, Mo., Police Department.

McGruder pleaded guilty to possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute on September 18, 2018. The exact date of the crime is August 4, 2017. McGruder’s wife had returned the rental vehicle with nearly a kilogram of methamphetamine in the trunk.

The sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole was handed down by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes. The total amount of methamphetamine found in the rental vehicle was approximately 934 grams. McGruder’s wife had initially claimed that $700 in cash had been left in the Yukon when she returned it.