Richard L. Buckner
A Marshall man is in custody after a package of drugs directed authorities to his front door.
Richard L. Buckner has been charged in Pettis County Circuit Court with second-degree drug trafficking and unlawful use of a weapon. He remains at the Pettis County Jail on a $50,000 bond, cash or surety.
Detectives from the Mid-Missouri Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Task Force discovered a package shipping to Buckner’s address on Wednesday. Task force Captain Kip Bartlett said detectives recognized suspicious signs of a package containing narcotics, and the box’s shipping information was also incorrect.
The task force responded with a K-9 unit to investigate the package and later obtained a search warrant, Bartlett said. After receiving permission to open the box, detectives discovered 10 ounces of methamphetamine inside.
The task force then requested a search warrant for Buckner’s home. Detectives delivered the package to his door and executed a search, finding another half ounce of suspected methamphetamine, Bartlett said.
The Pettis County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the search, which also revealed digital scales, packaging materials, drug paraphernalia and a handgun, according to a press release from Sheriff Kevin Bond. The case is still under investigation.
Detectives have continued to intercept other packages of narcotics in Pettis County and across the task force’s eight-county coverage area. The five-member unit trained with Kansas City drug enforcement officers last year to identify and stop drug trafficking through private shipping and the U.S. Postal Service.
“There’s a massive amount of drugs being shipped through the mail,” Bartlett said. “In the past three or four months, we started hitting this hard, and it’s been successful.”
Buckner was arraigned Monday before Judge Jeff Mittelhauser at the Pettis County Courthouse. His next court hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. May 22.
