Columbia Man Pleads Guilty to Meth, Illegal Firearm

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Columbia, Missouri, man pleaded guilty in federal court today to illegally possessing methamphetamine and a firearm.

Anthony Maurice Malin, 39,  pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Willie J. Epps Jr. to one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.

According to today’s plea agreement, a Columbia police officer spotted Malin in a parking lot near the intersection of Broadway and Stadium Boulevard in Columbia on Jan. 30, 2019. The officer, aware that Malin was wanted on arrest warrants in Taney County, Missouri, began to follow him. Law enforcement tracked Malin to his residence and officers surrounded the residence and directed Malin to come out. After 50 minutes, Malin and two other individuals left the residence and were arrested. Malin had a small bag of methamphetamine in his pocket.

Officers searched Malin’s residence and found smoking devices and baggies with drug residue in almost every room of the house. Inside a kitchen drawer, they found a loaded Smith and Wesson .40-caliber handgun. Officers also found a small bag of cocaine, scales, pipes, and a .40-caliber round in the upstairs master bathroom. Throughout the residence, officer found over 150 various sized and used plastic bags with methamphetamine and marijuana residue. Officers also found marijuana, heroin, methamphetamine, and more ammunition in the residence.

The downstairs toilet was clogged, according to the plea agreement. Malin told officers he tried to flush approximately a quarter pound of methamphetamine down the toilet when he heard the officers at the front door.

Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, the government and the defendant will jointly recommend a sentence of eight years in federal prison without parole. 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 Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron M. Maness. It was investigated by the Columbia, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.