Waynesville Couple Indicted for Meth Conspiracy; Officers Seized $414000 as Drug Proceeds

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Waynesville, Mo., couple has been indicted by a federal grand jury for their role in a nearly $414,000 conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Pulaski and Laclede counties.

Bruce Conant, 58, and his wife Rendy Conant, 52, both of Waynesville, were charged in a four-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo., on May 8, 2013. That indictment was unsealed and made public upon the couple’s arrest and initial court appearance on Thursday, May 16, 2013.

The federal indictment alleges that the Conants participated in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Pulaski and Laclede counties from Feb. 20 to July 16, 2012. In addition to the conspiracy, they are charged with possessing 50 grams or more of pure methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.

Bruce Conant is also charged with two counts related to the illegal possession of a Charter Arms .38-caliber revolver. Conant is charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug-trafficking crimes and with being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The indictment also contains forfeiture allegations, which would require the Conants to forfeit to the government any property derived from the proceeds of the alleged offenses, including $413,945, which was seized by law enforcement officers. According to the indictment, $84,165 was seized from the Conants on July 16, 2012 and $329,780 was seized from a storage facility rented by the Conants on July 17, 2012. The Conants would also be required to forfeit their residence in Waynesville, a 1995 Mustang Cobra, a 1998 BMW and a 1995 Chevrolet 1500. The Conants would also be required to forfeit personal property seized from their residence, including security and surveillance equipment, a coin collection, a flat screen television, police scanners, a telescope, a pair of binoculars, and night vision optics and scopes.

Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ami Harshad Miller and Cynthia Hyde. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, IRS – Criminal Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Laclede County Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Pulaski County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Waynesville, Mo., Police Department and the Pulaski County, Mo., Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.