OFFICERS SAY BOX MAILED VIA USPS CONTAINED OVER A POUND OF METH

A Purdy man was charged with drug trafficking after a search warrant yielded over a pound of methamphetamine delivered to his home on Farm Road 1095. Guadalupe Urbina Rodriguez, 71, is charged with trafficking drugs in the second degree - over statutory amount.
According to the affidavits of probable cause, 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 Rodriguez's residence. The package was addressed to Jose Nunez. When asked, Rodriguez identified himself as Nunez and accepted the package.
Officers with ODET and the Barry County Sheriff's Department listened to the exchange between Rodriguez and the USPS inspector via a cellphone in the inspector's pocket. After delivering the package, the inspector left and Rodriguez sat under a tree with the package, according to officers.
When they made contact with Rodriguez, he was sitting with a loaded .22 caliber rifle. Inside the package, officers found 478 grams of crystal methamphetamine. When interviewed, 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.
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 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.
Rodriguez is currently being held in the Barry County Jail in lieu of a $100,000 cash-only bond.

Charlea Estes-Jones