Several cases filed charging suspects with possession of meth


Danielle Rosario

Carmen Mitchell

Michelle Mahler

Levi McKee

Jeffrey Loveall

Randy Wilson

Marsha Wilson

Ozark County Prosecuting Attorney Lee Pipkins has filed several cases over the last few weeks charging suspects with possession of methamphetamine in Ozark County. 

We’ve compiled a short synopsis of the allegations in each of the cases. Although they were all recently filed by the prosecutor, the incidents occurred as recent as this month back to the year 2023. The prosecutor has up to three years as a general rule to file felony charges before the statute of limitations is met. The exception is that of class A felonies such as murder, rape, forcible rape, attempted rape, sodomy and other serious charges, which do not have a statute of limitation.

The newly filed cases are listed here chronologically, with the newest incident appearing first. 

 

Danielle Rosario

Jan. 12, 2025

Danielle Rosario, 38, of Udall, is charged with possession of meth and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia (with prior drug offenses).  

According to the probable cause statement, prepared by Deputy Gannon Moss, at 6:45 p.m. Jan. 12, the officer was serving a search warrant at Rosario’s house in Udall with Ozark County’s Special Enforcement Team (SET). 

Officers found a glass alcohol bottle equipped with a short glass pipe, multiple pipes in Rosario’s bedroom with white powder on them and black burn marks and a small plastic baggie with a white, crystalline substance. All items field-tested positive for meth, the report says.

Rosario is charged as a persistent drug offender, as she has been convicted of two or more felony drug charges in the past. The designation means she will face stricter consequences if she is convicted. 

Josh Brown of Pointer Blackburn and Brown filed as her attorney, working as a contracted council through the Missouri Public Defender’s Office. 

She was scheduled to appear in Ozark County Court for a bond hearing before Associate Judge Raymond Gross on Tuesday. She had been held on a $2,000 cash-only bond since her arrest Jan. 14. Results of the hearing were not available at presstime. 

 

Andrea Kester 

(no mug shot available)

Dec. 17, 2024

A warrant with a $2,000 cash-only bond has been issued for the arrest of Andrea May Kester of Willow Springs in connection with an Ozark County case in which she’s charged with possession of meth and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia (with a prior drug offense). 

According to the probable cause statement, prepared by Ozark County Sheriff’s Deputy Josh Sherman, on Dec. 17, 2024, he noticed a truck sitting at the Phillips 66 gas station in Gainesville (formerly J-Mart) for a prolonged period of time without getting fuel. After conducting a traffic stop due to the license plate not being illuminated or secured properly, Sherman made contact with the driver, a man whose name is not shared in the Kester court documents. Kester was riding as a passenger. Inside her purse, officers found a clear empty tube with a white powder substance that field-tested positive for meth. 

Officers found 1.5 grams of meth,  and two syringes that field-tested positive for meth in a black backpack that was determined to be owned by another woman who was in the truck. That woman’s name is not known. If charges are filed against the woman and the information becomes public, the Times will include an article on Kester’s co-defendant. 

The warrant was issued after the case was filed on Jan. 18. Online records show that she hasn’t been arrested in the case yet.

 

Carmen Mitchell

Oct. 25, 2024

A warrant with a $2,000 cash-only bond has been issued for the arrest of Carmen Mitchell, 42, of Zanoni, in connection with a case in which she’s charged with possession of meth and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia (with a prior drug arrest). 

According to the probable cause statement, prepared by Ozark County Deputy Hunter Ryan, on Oct. 25, 2024, the officer pulled Mitchell over on Highway 181 for not having an illuminated license plate. She pulled into the Needmore Church parking lot. Mitchell gave the officer her name, but said she didn’t have her driver’s license with her and handed him an insurance card that was expired. 

As Deputy Ryan entered her information into the system, OCSD K9 Handler Josh Sherman took K9 officer Karo around the vehicle. The drug dog made a positive alert to drugs. 

Officers found a mirror-like container, a mirror and a small plastic bag, all of which field-tested positive for methamphetamine. 

The warrant was issued after the case was filed on Jan. 18. Online records show that she hasn’t been arrested in the case yet.

 

Michelle Mahler

Sept. 19, 2024

Michelle Mahler, 40, of Caulfield, is charged with possession of meth and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia (with a prior drug arrest). 

According to the probable cause statement, prepared by Ozark County Deputy Josh Sherman, on Sept. 19, 2024, several officers with the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department conducted a warrant arrest for Mahler and two others at a residence in Bakersfield. 

There was no one home when officers first arrived, but Mahler, who had an active warrant for her arrest, reportedly showed up soon afterward. Sherman wrote that from prior knowledge of the residence, he knew that drugs and paraphernalia were often located toward the main coffee table by a shelf on the wall. As he executed the warrant with Mahler alongside him, he found an orange device in plain view that appeared to be used to smoke drugs. He asked Mahler if it was a pipe, and she said “I know you see it,” and “I’m not going to lie to you.” She said nothing else was at the residence. The pipe had residue and burn marks on it, and it field-tested positive for methamphetamine. 

A warrant was originally issued in the case, but Judge Gross withdrew it on Jan. 22 and scheduled Mahler to be arraigned Jan. 28. A criminal summons was to be issued to notify her of the court date. Details of the hearing were not available at presstime. 

 

Levi McKee

Sept. 17, 2024

Christopher “Levi” McKee, 45, of Caulfield, is scheduled to appear in court before Judge Gross at 8 a.m. Feb. 11, for a criminal setting in connection with a case in which he’s charged with possession of meth, unlawful use of a weapon (possessing a weapon and felony-level controlled substance), hindering the prosecution of a felony and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. 

According to the probable cause statement, prepared by Ozark County Deputy Josh Sherman, around 11 p.m. Sept. 17, 2024, the Multi-Jurisdictional Task Force executed a residential search warrant at the home of McKee and another suspect, whose name is not provided in court documents but is thought to be Chad McKee. The home is located on H Highway in the Caulfield area.

At the cabin and in a “motorcycle shed” officers found the following items they allege belong to McKee: methamphetamine in a clear baggie; a Springfield Model 120ALR rifle, which is illegal for him to possess while in possession of methamphetamine; a Ruger 270 Win bolt action rifle, also illegal to possess alongside the drugs; two glass smoking devices; a loaded syringe; three broken glass smoking devices; 12 plastic baggies with a white crystal-like substance inside; 1 glass bulb smoking device; one spoon with a white crystal-like substance, all of which field-tested positive for methamphetamine.

The hindering the prosecution of a felony charge is in relation to actions Levi McKee reportedly took to attempt to keep Chad McKee out of trouble the night before after he allegedly assaulted a man with a machete. 

The probable cause statement says that officers found Chad’s phone during the search warrant execution, which showed text messages between him and Levi McKee. 

“In brief, [Chad] related victim A was being ‘airlifted to Springfield,’ Levi relayed, “I need to get your alibi going you better [get] here,’ and ‘If you don’t get over here now there ain’t no way I can help you should never left here to begin with.’ Finally, Levi relayed ‘just pull in and park your car where you had it this morning try to hit the same tracks,’” the report says. 

It was noted that in a precursor investigation and interview around midnight after the alleged assault, Levi and Chad said they were working on the farm all day, and Levi had given his name and date of birth to corroborate Chad’s whereabouts on the date of the attack. 

“Given the text messages above, Levi has assisted with the disguise or other means to aid [Chad] from apprehension by law enforcement through deceit and deception,” Sherman wrote. 

Chad McKee’s case was filed in September, and an article was included in the Sept. 25, 2024, edition of the Times. Search www.ozarkcountytimes.com for “Man in jail after attack with machete.”

Christopher Swatosh has filed his appearance as Levi McKee’s attorney. 

 

Jeffrey Loveall

July 11, 2024

Jeffrey Loveall, 64, of Protem, is charged with possession of meth, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia (with a prior drug offense) and driving with a revoked or suspended license. 

According to the probable cause statement, prepared by Ozark County Sheriff’s Lt. Matt Rhoades, at 7:50 p.m. July 11, 2024, the officer saw a black Chevy Impala traveling down Highway 160 in Theodosia with license plates that came back to a 1997 Ford Ranger. He stopped the vehicle, and Loveall was in the driver’s seat. He had a suspended driver’s license, and the Impala he was driving was not registered and did not have insurance, the report says. 

When Rhoades asked if there was anything illegal in the vehicle, he reportedly said there was a meth pipe in the driver’s side floorboard of the car under some cardboard. Rhoades found the pipe, which field-tested positive for meth. 

Missouri Public Defender Chase Opolka is representing Loveall. He was arraigned Jan. 21. He is being held in the Ozark County Jail on a $2,000 cash-only bond. 

 

Randy and Marsha Wilson

May 6, 2023

Warrants with $1,500 cash-only bonds have been issued for the arrest of Randy and Marsha Wilson, of Gainesville, in connection with a case in which they’re each charged with possession of meth in 2023.

According to the probable cause statement, prepared by Ozark County Lt. Matt Rhoades, at 8:30 a.m. May 6, 2023, the officer was assigned to a call about a possible hostage situation in the Tecumseh area.

In the court documents, the co-defendant’s name is redacted, but paired with both sets of court documents, it is apparent that it is referring to both spouses. We’ve inserted Randy’s name in brackets in places where his name was redacted from Marsha’s court document below.

“I located a witness that confirmed they believed there were individuals inside holding the homeowners’ hostage. We were eventually able to get the residents to exit the house. One of the residents, [Randy] told me he could not describe the hostage takers still in the house, but they were still inside. I could see [Randy] and his wife, Marsha, were both clearly under the influence of a controlled substance. [Randy] told me to look in his pants pocket. I did and I located a plastic bottle with a white powdery substance inside that I recognize... as meth. During a clearing of the residence for intruders, I located a plate with meth on it and two plastic straws on it in plain sight in the bedroom. All items field-tested positive for amphetamines. There were no intruders in the house or any signs that anyone else was in the residence.”

An article about the incident ran in the June 14, 2023, edition of the Ozark County Times. Search “Officers respond to report of Tecumseh residents held at gunpoint - but find it’s only meth-induced hallucinations” at www.ozarkcountytimes.com to read the story. 

Online records show that neither Randy or Marsha have been arrested in the case. 

Ozark County Times

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