Purdy man convicted of federal drug trafficking
April 3, 2019
Charlea Estes-Jones
A man from Purdy was convicted by a federal jury for possession of methamphetamine to distribute and possession of a firearm last week for the purpose of drug trafficking crime and possession of a firearm by a felon. Guadalupe Urbina-Rodriguez, 71, was found guilty on Tuesday, March 26.
Urbina-Rodriguez was charged after a search warrant yielded over a pound of methamphetamine delivered to his home on Farm Road 1095.
According to the affidavits of probable cause, Urbina-Rodriguez was the subject of a narcotics warrant served at his Purdy home. Officers with the Ozarks Drug Enforcement Team (ODET) and the Barry County Sheriff’s Department worked with the United States Postal Service (USPS) on a package delivery that coincided with the search warrant execution on Friday, August 31.
An inspector with the USPS delivered a package to Urbina-Rodriguez’s residence. The package was addressed to Jose Nunez. When asked, Urbina-Rodriguez identified himself as Nunez and accepted the package.
Officers with ODET and the Barry County Sheriff’s Department listened to the exchange between Urbina-Rodriguez and the USPS inspector via a cellphone in the inspector’s pocket. After delivering the package, the inspector left and Urbina-Rodriguez sat under a tree with the package, according to officers.
When they made contact with Urbina-Rodriguez, he was sitting with a loaded .22 caliber rifle. Inside the package, officers found 478 grams of crystal methamphetamine. When interviewed, Urbina-Rodriguez told officers he had received multiple packages for Nunez but would not say when or where Nunez picked them up. He also allegedly told officers he is paid in cash on the 20th of each month for no reason.
Urbina-Rodriguez’s wife was also interviewed. She allegedly told officers she did not know of anyone named Jose but that two women met with her husband after packages were delivered.
When the inspector looked up a historical check on Urbina-Rodriguez’s address, he showed 12 packages delivered since April 2018. Six were over a pound and six were just under a pound.
Commander Chad Allison, with ODET, said the methamphetamine found by officers was worth approximately $47,000. The Cassville Police Department’s K-9 unit assisted with the investigation.
Urbina-Rodriguez's guilt was determined after the federal jury deliberated for around an hour and 15 minutes. The trial, which began on March 25, concluded the next day under US District Judge M. Douglas Harpool.
He will be subjected to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years imprisonment with the Department of Corrections in a federal prison without parole. Urbina-Rodriguez could serve a life sentence. The final sentence will be determined after a sentencing hearing is conducted after a investigation by the United States Probation Office.
The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica R. Keller and Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall D. Eggert after an investigation by local law enforcement grounps, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Charlea Estes-Jones
A man from Purdy was convicted by a federal jury for possession of methamphetamine to distribute and possession of a firearm last week for the purpose of drug trafficking crime and possession of a firearm by a felon. Guadalupe Urbina-Rodriguez, 71, was found guilty on Tuesday, March 26.
Urbina-Rodriguez was charged after a search warrant yielded over a pound of methamphetamine delivered to his home on Farm Road 1095.
According to the affidavits of probable cause, Urbina-Rodriguez was the subject of a narcotics warrant served at his Purdy home. Officers with the Ozarks Drug Enforcement Team (ODET) and the Barry County Sheriff’s Department worked with the United States Postal Service (USPS) on a package delivery that coincided with the search warrant execution on Friday, August 31.
An inspector with the USPS delivered a package to Urbina-Rodriguez’s residence. The package was addressed to Jose Nunez. When asked, Urbina-Rodriguez identified himself as Nunez and accepted the package.
Officers with ODET and the Barry County Sheriff’s Department listened to the exchange between Urbina-Rodriguez and the USPS inspector via a cellphone in the inspector’s pocket. After delivering the package, the inspector left and Urbina-Rodriguez sat under a tree with the package, according to officers.
When they made contact with Urbina-Rodriguez, he was sitting with a loaded .22 caliber rifle. Inside the package, officers found 478 grams of crystal methamphetamine. When interviewed, Urbina-Rodriguez told officers he had received multiple packages for Nunez but would not say when or where Nunez picked them up. He also allegedly told officers he is paid in cash on the 20th of each month for no reason.
Urbina-Rodriguez’s wife was also interviewed. She allegedly told officers she did not know of anyone named Jose but that two women met with her husband after packages were delivered.
When the inspector looked up a historical check on Urbina-Rodriguez’s address, he showed 12 packages delivered since April 2018. Six were over a pound and six were just under a pound.
Commander Chad Allison, with ODET, said the methamphetamine found by officers was worth approximately $47,000. The Cassville Police Department’s K-9 unit assisted with the investigation.
Urbina-Rodriguez's guilt was determined after the federal jury deliberated for around an hour and 15 minutes. The trial, which began on March 25, concluded the next day under US District Judge M. Douglas Harpool.
He will be subjected to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years imprisonment with the Department of Corrections in a federal prison without parole. Urbina-Rodriguez could serve a life sentence. The final sentence will be determined after a sentencing hearing is conducted after a investigation by the United States Probation Office.
The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica R. Keller and Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall D. Eggert after an investigation by local law enforcement grounps, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
