Russellville man sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for meth trafficking

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A U.S. district judge sentenced a Russellville man for distributing more than two pounds of meth.

William Austin Lee Crabtree, 30, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison without parole.

On Aug. 24, 2021, Crabtree pleaded guilty to one count of meth trafficking.

A Moniteau County sheriff’s deputy saw Crabtree in the driver’s seat of a Cadillac parked behind an apartment complex in Tipton in Oct. 2017. The deputy parked in front of the Cadillac and, as he got out of his vehicle, one man began walking away from the Cadillac and then Crabtree walked the other way. The deputy then took Crabtree into custody.

A police dog alerted to the driver’s side door of Crabtree's vehicle where deputies found two baggies of meth.