Jury Convicts Columbia Man of Cocaine Conspiracy

JEFFERSON CITY, MO—Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Columbia, Mo., man was convicted by a federal jury today of his role in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine in Boone County, Mo.

Matthew Raymond Olsson, also known as “Odog Phatty,” 33, of Columbia, was found guilty of participating in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine in Boone County in August and September 2010. Olsson was also found guilty of possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute.

Co-defendants Michael Jerome Walker, Jr., 27, and Corey Wayne Everage, 33, both of Columbia, have pleaded guilty to their roles in the drug trafficking conspiracy. Walker also pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute. Everage also pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Everage was in possession of a loaded Rossi .357-caliber revolver on Sept. 13, 2010. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Everage has prior felony convictions for stealing, leaving the scene of an accident and distributing a controlled substance.

On Sept. 13, 2010, the Boone County Sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant at a duplex where Walker and Everage each had an apartment. Olsson was the only person upstairs at Walker’s apartment, where law enforcement officers found a quantity of cocaine that had been dumped in the toilet. Walker was located in a downstairs bedroom, handcuffed and taken into the kitchen. Officers found $7,795 in one of Walker’s pants pockets. While in the kitchen, despite being handcuffed, Walker was able to remove a baggie of cocaine from a drawer and dump it into the sink, which was filled with water. Officers also found drug paraphernalia in the apartment.

Everage was alone in his apartment when the search warrant was executed. Officers found the loaded handgun under a bed as well as cocaine, marijuana, and some ammunition in the apartment.

Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Jefferson City deliberated for about three hours before returning the guilty verdict to U.S. Chief District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan, ending a three-day trial that began Monday, Sept. 26, 2011.

Under federal statutes, Olsson is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 60 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $6 million. 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 Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Berry and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence E. Miller. It was investigated by the FBI, the Columbia, Mo., Police Department, the Boone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.