Robby Dee Kesler, 54, of Mexico, Mo., is headed to federal prison for 11 years and five months without parole after being convicted of possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes, caps a years-long trail of drug activity stretching across mid-Missouri, cash seizures, and armed surveillance setups.
Kesler pleaded guilty on July 19, 2016, but the crimes date back to at least 2013. On May 21, 2015, the MUSTANG Task Force — tracking Kesler due to outstanding warrants — observed him drive to a residence in Columbia, Mo. When confronted by a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper, Kesler fled into the home without permission and holed up in the bathroom. Residents alerted officers, who surrounded the house and, after hours of negotiation, took Kesler into custody.
Inside his wallet, officers found $1,759. Hidden behind the driver’s seat of his vehicle, they uncovered a large Zip-loc bag containing approximately 370 grams of methamphetamine. Another $9,000 was discovered inside the Columbia residence. The haul marked just the beginning of a broader pattern of drug distribution behavior.
A search of his mother’s home in Mexico, Mo., on May 26, 2015 — where Kesler was living — turned up drug paraphernalia and a Walther PPK pistol. That cache followed a prior raid on August 25, 2013, when Callaway County deputies executed a search warrant at the same residence and seized five grams of meth, digital scales, and $16,460 in cash from his bedroom.
Just months later, on January 20, 2014, Kesler was pulled over in a vehicle with two others. Officers found drug paraphernalia, suspected meth in bags, and $20,169 in cash. A simultaneous search of his Fulton, Mo., residence revealed more paraphernalia, a plastic bag of suspected meth, a shotgun, and $1,650. The home was outfitted with surveillance cameras — a sign of operational caution, according to investigators.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Lynn and investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the MUSTANG task force. U.S. Attorney Tammy Dickinson confirmed the sentencing in federal court today, underscoring the federal crackdown on meth distribution networks in rural Missouri.
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Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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