A Missouri woman was sentenced in federal court for methamphetamine trafficking after she received a large package of methamphetamine shipped from California to distribute locally.
Cassiopeia Marie Blaise, 37, Columbia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to eight years in federal prison without parole.
Blaise pleaded guilty on Aug. 31, 2021, to possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. Co-defendant Bryan Patton Tullous, 39, of Columbia, was sentenced on Feb. 11, 2022, to 10 years and 11 months in federal prison without parole after pleading guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
On April 26, 2019, law enforcement officers intercepted a package from California that had been shipped to the residence shared by Tullous and Blaise. The package contained approximately 5.6 pounds of methamphetamine in five individual packages that weighed approximately one pound (453 grams) each, for a total of 2.209 kilograms of methamphetamine. Officers conducted surveillance of the residence as the package was delivered to the front porch. Both Tullous and Blaise were outside; Blaise retrieved the package and took it inside the residence while Tullous was in a neighbor’s yard. Officers took both of them into custody and executed a search warrant of the residence. Officers found the opened package hidden under clothing at the foot of the bed in the master bedroom.
Officers also found a dozen firearms in various areas of the residence, including a loaded Smith & Wesson .380-caliber pistol laying near the package in the bedroom. In a safe in the garage, officers found a Mossberg .22-caliber rifle, a Snake Charmer 410 shotgun, a Browning .223-caliber rifle, a Bear River .38-caliber revolver, and a Charter Arms .38-caliber revolver. The Snake Charmer 410 shotgun had the stock cut off, making it useable as a pistol grip-type weapon.
Tullous admitted that he ordered the package and paid $12,000 for the methamphetamine.
This case was prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. Oliver. It was investigated by the East Central Drug Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the Columbia, Mo., Police Department.
