Jefferson City Woman Sentenced for Meth, Mail Theft Conspiracies

 

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Jefferson City, Mo., woman has been sentenced in federal court in two separate and unrelated federal cases, for her role in a large-scale conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in the Cole and Callaway County area and for her role in a conspiracy to steal mail.

Tami Jo Zeugin, 39, of Jefferson City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2014, to 10 years in federal prison without parole.

Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine

On Jan. 9, 2014, Zeugin pleaded guilty to her role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

Zeugin admitted that she sold 6.2 grams of methamphetamine to a confidential informant during a controlled purchase on April 18, 2012. On May 3, 2012, Jefferson City police officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle that was reported stolen. The vehicle was driven by Zeugin, who was arrested and searched. She was found to possess $2,893 in cash. During a search of the car, officers located a zipper bag under the driver’s seat. This bag was found to contain syringes, plastic bags, and four plastic bags containing a total of 21.98 grams of methamphetamine.

Co-defendant Mitchell Lynn Atterberry, 36, of Eldon, was sentenced on Jan. 23, 2013, to 20 years in federal prison without parole after pleading guilty to his role in the drug-trafficking conspiracy. According to Zeugin, Atterberry had been dealing with a Mexican source of methamphetamine in the Kansas City area for approximately two years, and she traveled with Atterberry on numerous occasions to buy methamphetamine from that source.

During a series of investigations and traffic stops – including two high-speed chases – in 2011 and 2012, Atterberry was found to be in possession of over 20 grams of methamphetamine, more than $17,000, drug ledgers and a loaded handgun.

The total methamphetamine seized from Atterberry and Zeugin during the course of the investigation is 54.14 grams. Officers also seized a total of $20,939.

Conspiracy to Steal Mail

In a separate and unrelated case, Zeugin also pleaded guilty on Jan. 10, 2014, to her role in a conspiracy to steal mail. Law enforcement officers learned that a $960 check had been stolen from the mail, altered, and cashed by another person at Zeugin’s request.

When Zeugin was arrested in November 2012, she had numerous checks not made out to her along with mail items addressed to other people in her purse. Additional mail was also located within the residence.

The total loss attributable to the check-stealing conspiracy was $5,918.

These cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Kummerer. They were investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Jefferson City, Mo., Police Department, the Columbia, Mo., Police Department, the Holts Summit, Mo., Police Department, the Fulton, Mo., Police Department, the Mid-Missouri Drug Task Force, MUSTANG (the Mid-Missouri Unified Strike Team and Narcotics Group), the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Cole County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Morgan County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Marshal’s Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Callaway County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Desoto, Mo., Police Department and the Deslodge, Mo., Police Department.