Springfield woman pleads guilty to role in meth conspiracy

A Springfield woman who was arrested with a half-pound of heroin and six pounds of methamphetamine in her possession has pleaded guilty in federal court to her role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Greene County.

Kathy J. Alexander, 62, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool on Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018, to the charge contained in a Jan. 23, 2018, federal indictment.

Alexander was arrested while driving through Amarillo, Texas, on Jan. 11, 2016, with a half-pound of heroin and six pounds of methamphetamine that she was transporting from Arizona to Springfield. Alexander admitted that she had traveled to Arizona and met with co-conspirators to receive the heroin and methamphetamine. After the drugs were repackaged for distribution, she began driving back to Springfield to deliver them to another co-conspirator.

Alexander had also been stopped, but not arrested, on Dec. 2, 2014, by law enforcement officers in Oklahoma while she was transporting five ounces of heroin hidden in her underwear.

Alexander admitted that she had made 14 drug transporting excursions, averaging one trip each month, for which she was paid $500 per trip. The drug-trafficking conspiracy lasted from Dec. 2, 2014, to Jan. 23, 2018.

Co-defendant Davetta F. Hicks, 31, of Springfield, has also pleaded guilty to her role in the drug-trafficking conspiracy. Hicks was arrested on Dec. 9, 2014, by Kingsville, Texas, police officers for the possession of a half-pound of methamphetamine found in her purse. Hicks admitted that she made three trips to Texas to transport cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine to Springfield.

Under federal statutes, Alexander is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Abram McGull II. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Springfield, Mo., Police Department and the Combined Ozarks Multijurisdictional Enforcement Team (COMET).