East Coast man sentenced for execution-style killing of a drug middleman in Barstow

The Department of Justice reported that a Pennsylvania man was sentenced Friday to serve 40 years in federal prison for a murder committed during a drug trafficking conspiracy.

Kyle M. Leeper, age 38, of Palmyra, was sentenced on murder charges while conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon, the DOJ reported.

As part of his previous guilty plea, Leeper admitted he was part of a conspiracy that trafficked methamphetamine from Indiana and Southern California to Cortland County, New York, where Leeper distributed it to residents and drug dealers.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and Barstow Police Department played a role in the investigation.

Drug distribution

In the fall of 2018, co-defendant Crystal Stephens of Groton, New York, who was incarcerated in Indiana on burglary charges, contacted Leeper by telephone with contact information for co-defendant John Rice, an Indiana-based methamphetamine dealer.

Leeper communicated with Rice by telephone and then traveled to and from Indiana twice in late 2018 and early 2019, where he obtained crystal methamphetamine and a .380 caliber pistol from Rice. Leeper distributed this methamphetamine in the Cortland area.

After Rice was arrested in Indiana in early January 2019, Leeper arranged to travel to the Los Angeles area to purchase more methamphetamine.

From jail, Crystal Stephens provided Leeper with telephone numbers for possible methamphetamine sources in East Los Angeles.

In mid-January 2019, Leeper and an associate, co-defendant Ramon Nieves-Cotto, drove from Cortland to Los Angeles, where Leeper contacted one of these sources.

The middleman

The source sought assistance from co-defendant Arlene Rodriguez, who introduced Leeper to a middleman. On Jan. 17, 2019, the middleman arranged for Leeper to buy three pounds of crystal methamphetamine for $5,000 from co-defendant Jose Pimentel.

But after the methamphetamine was delivered to a motel in El Monte, California, Leeper realized that he had been shortchanged on the quantity delivered.

Leeper abducted the middleman and Arlene Rodriguez at gunpoint. Later that day, Nieves-Cotto purchased zip ties, which Leeper used to bind the middleman.

On the night of Jan. 17, 2019, in the desert in Barstow, Leeper fatally shot the bound middleman eight times from behind with the .380 caliber pistol.

Leeper and Nieves-Cotto, along with Rodriguez, drove to Cortland, where Leeper distributed the methamphetamine he obtained on this trip to California.

Arrests made

In early Feb. 2019, Leeper, Nieves-Cotto, and Rodriguez returned to Los Angeles, where Leeper purchased an additional six to eight pounds of methamphetamine and a 9 mm pistol from co-defendant Edgar Arredondo.

Upon his return to Cortland, Leeper, assisted by Rodriguez, began distributing this methamphetamine. On Feb. 19, 2019, officers from the Cortland County Sheriff’s Office stopped Leeper and Rodriguez while driving in Leeper’s pickup truck, which had an expired registration and cracked windshield.

Inside the truck, the officers found four pounds of high-purity methamphetamine, the loaded .380 caliber pistol Leeper had used to commit the murder, and ammunition.

Officers arrested Leeper, who previously had been convicted of state and federal felony offenses in Pennsylvania, and Rodriguez.

Justice for “cold-blooded killing”

United States Attorney Carla Freedman said, “Kyle Leeper’s sentence today is justice for his cold-blooded killing of a man in the California desert as part of a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy. After kidnapping and binding the victim, Leeper brutally shot him eight times back and left him in Barstow, California.”

Freedman added, “Leeper also brought pounds of methamphetamine to Cortland from Los Angeles and Indiana until state and federal investigators worked together to stop him and his co-conspirators. Leeper will spend the next 40 years in federal prison to pay for the violence and suffering he inflicted.”

FBI Special Agent in Charge Janeen DiGuiseppe said, “Today’s sentence indicates the success that can be attained when federal, state, and local agencies combine resources to remove violent offenders from our communities. Mr. Leeper was so committed to trafficking dangerous drugs into Cortland County that he was willing to kill anyone who stood in his way.”

DiGuiseppe continued by saying, “Thanks to the strong collaboration between our law enforcement partners in New York and California, he is now being held accountable for his despicable actions. The FBI is grateful to our law enforcement partners, and we remain dedicated to investigating and apprehend violent drug traffickers whose actions threaten the health and safety of our neighborhoods.”

Cortland County Sheriff Mark E. Helms said, “I am extremely proud of both Sgt. Mike Winchell and Officer Peter Wright for turning what some would consider a routine traffic stop into a major multi-agency investigation. Additionally, I would like to thank all the other investigators from my office, as well as all the other officers and agencies that worked together and were able to put together this complex case resulting in the successful prosecution of Kyle Leeper and Arlene Rodriguez. This is a great example of local, state, and federal agencies working together.”

Barstow, California Chief of Police Andrew Espinoza, Jr. said, “Kyle Leeper committed a heinous crime in our city, and today he was held accountable to the victim and his family. This investigation was complex and spanned across the country. I commend the collaborative effort of all the law enforcement agencies involved and the federal prosecutors who handled this case. Kyle Leeper received justice today through their diligence and hard work.”

The co-defendants

The DOJ reported that six other co-defendants previously pled guilty to participating in the drug trafficking conspiracy with Leeper and/or aiding and abetting the murder.

Ramon Nieves-Cotto, 30, of DeRuyter, New York, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting a murder during a drug conspiracy and conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. He was sentenced on Oct. 7 to serve 156 months in federal prison and a four-year term of supervised release.

Crystal J. Stephens, 34, of Groton, New York, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. She was sentenced on Nov. 15 to serve 100 months in federal prison and a four-year term of supervised release.

Arlene N. Rodriguez, 38, of Montebello, California, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm in connection with a drug trafficking crime. She was sentenced on Oct. 6 to serve 94 months in prison, to be followed by a four-year term of supervised release.

Jose Pimentel, Jr., 31, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 1.

Edgar Arredondo, 35, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. He also pled guilty to charges based on his possession of shotgun ammunition in the Central District of California and 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 1.

John Rice, 57, of Crawfordsville, Indiana, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 12, 2023.

A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.

Agencies involved

• Federal Bureau of Investigation

• U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration

• Cortland County Sheriff’s Office in New York

• The Barstow Police Department,

• The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

• U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives

• Cortland County District Attorney’s Office

• Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department in Indiana

• Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office in Indiana

• Pomona Police Department

• El Monte Police Department

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven D. Clymer, Richard R. Southwick, and Thomas R. Sutcliffe.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: East Coast man sentenced for killing of drug middleman in Barstow