CAPE GIRARDEAU – Former Cape Girardeau city councilman Rhettney B. Pierce, 55, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, according to a recent investigation.

Pierce admitted to buying four ounces of methamphetamine for $300 on September 26, 2024, in a Cape Girardeau hotel room from a confidential source working with law enforcement. The source was a confidential informant and was not named in the investigation.

He told investigators that he had been a habitual methamphetamine user since approximately 2019 and snorted a line of methamphetamine every morning and afternoon.

Pierce also admitted to buying three ounces of methamphetamine from the confidential source the previous month and selling two ounces out of what he bought. He was arrested immediately after leaving the hotel room.

During the investigation, Pierce requested a ‘break’ or a ‘favor’ about 20 times and asked officers to keep the case quiet and give him ‘preferential treatment.’ He claimed to be friends with high-ranking law enforcement officials, judges, and prominent members of the Cape Girardeau community.

Investigators found more methamphetamine and two handguns in a subsequent court-approved search of Pierce’s home.

Pierce is scheduled to be sentenced on February 17, 2026. The charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $1,000,000, or both prison and a fine. The investigation was conducted by the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force, the Cape Girardeau Sheriff’s Office, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Shelton is prosecuting the case.

The Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force, the Cape Girardeau Sheriff’s Office, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol worked together to investigate the case.

Pierce’s plea agreement admitted that he had been a habitual user of methamphetamine since approximately 2019.

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