Jefferson City man pleads guilty for meth distribution

Michael Pearson, 33, of Jefferson City, pled guilty to meth distribution. Other defendants in the case, David Eugene Rodebaugh, 41, and Hernan Hurtado, 25, both of Jefferson City, have also pled guilty to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.

Pearson admitted that on Feb. 13, 2015, he was driving a black Acura, in which Rodebaugh was a passenger. The Drug Enforcement Administration and MUSTANG (the Mid-Missouri Unified Strike Team and Narcotics Group) were watching the veicle. Officers followed Pearson to the parking lot of the Capital Mall in Jefferson City, where they met Hurtado. After speaking with Hurtado for about 30 minutes, Pearson reached into the cab of Hurtado’s pickup truck and retrieved a plastic bag, which he placed in the back seat of the Acura.

As the group left the parking lot, law enforcement officers attempted to stop Pearson. Pearson failed to stop and officers engaged in a pursuit. The Acura left the roadway and drove down an embankment. Pearson jumped from the Acura and fled. Rodebaugh was arrested at the scene. Pearson was later found and arrested.

Officers found a plastic bag 75 yards from where the Acura stopped. Rodebaugh admitted he threw the bag out of the vehicle’s window during the pursuit. The bag contained two bundles that each contained 1,968 grams of pure methamphetamine.

Later that day, Hurtado called the Jefferson City Police Department to report he had been robbed at his home in Jefferson City. Hurtado voluntarily came to the police station, where he was questioned and arrested.

Hurtado admitted that an unidentified source from Kansas City, Mo., had delivered five pounds of methamphetamine to him the evening prior to his meeting with Pearson and Rodebaugh.