A St. Louis resident who was caught with 40 pounds of crystal methamphetamine that law enforcement said was on its way to Bowling Green was sentenced Wednesday to one year and one day in prison.

Raymond Derouse Jr., 54, was handed the sentence in U.S. District Court after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess meth with the intent to distribute.

Eight people were charged in 2020 in the scheme, which was uncovered by law enforcement after a traffic stop that year in Texas resulted in the discovery and seizure of 40 pounds of meth, described by law enforcement as the largest seizure of the drug in local history.

All eight co-defendants have pleaded guilty, and two of them await sentencing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Yurchisin said in court Wednesday that Derouse had flown to California with a large amount of cash and attempted to return to Bowling Green in a rental car that contained the drugs.

While admitting to having the drugs in his possession, Derouse said at his sentencing hearing that he was an unwitting participant in the conspiracy, having been tricked into taking part by a co-defendant, Andre Graham, who he had known previously.

“Had I known (Graham) was dealing meth, I would have cut him out of my life,” Derouse said. “I have seen the devastation it has done to my community in St. Louis. … I don’t know how much I’m supposed to pay for a crime I didn’t know I was committing and would never voluntarily commit.”

Court documents indicate Derouse was hired into the conspiracy by Graham, a St. Louis resident who was given a 12-year sentence for his role, and Tyrecus Crowe to transport the meth to Crowe.

Federal prosecutors are seeking a 30-year sentence for Crowe, who was recently appointed a new attorney to represent him after his previous defense team of attorneys John Caudill and Matt Baker withdrew.

Crowe has signaled in court filings that he wishes to withdraw his guilty plea.

The sentence for Derouse is the shortest one to have been delivered by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Greg Stivers among the participants in the conspiracy.

Derouse’s attorney, Dwight Burton, asked that his client be given a sentence of time served, arguing that Derouse had no criminal record before this incident and became involved during a time when he was unemployed.

“He got wrapped up with the wrong people and he was at a low point in his life,” said Burton, adding that Derouse was going to be paid $1,000 for transporting the drugs.

Yurchisin sought a 37-month sentence for Derouse, arguing that the punishment was warranted due to the large amount of drugs involved and that drug traffickers commonly seek out people with no criminal records as “clean drug mules” who can transport the illegal substances without raising suspicion.

“These people prey on people like Mr. Derouse to carry their drugs, but he still made the choice,” Yurchisin said. “This is a serious offense and we need to deter this type of conduct.”

Stivers characterized Derouse’s involvement in the conspiracy as “tragic” and said he believed Derouse would not repeat this conduct, but that some time in prison was necessary to reflect the vastness of the conspiracy.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that Derouse knew he was doing something wrong,” Stivers said.

– Follow courts reporter Justin Story on Twitter @jstorydailynews or visit bgdailynews.com.