Robert Goins Leeper Receives 21 Year Prison Sentence For Conspiracy To Distribute Methamphetamine

 GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – On April 5, 2021, Robert Goins Leeper, 52, currently of Clarksville, was sentenced by the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville.  

As part of the plea agreement filed with the court, Leeper pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with one count of Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with the Intent to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Actual Methamphetamine, U.S.C. 21 U.S.C. § § 846, 841(a)(1), and (b)(1)(A). Leeper was sentenced to 262 months (21.8 years) in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. 

In the spring of 2017, local and federal agencies coordinated an investigation into a methamphetamine distribution organization operating in Elizabethton, Tennessee.  Leeper was identified as a member of the conspiracy, and it was determined that Leeper conspired with others to distribute hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine into upper northeast Tennessee. Leeper used co-defendants to transport pounds of methamphetamine from California to Tennessee, and he then distributed the methamphetamine to other co-defendants for further distribution. Additionally, Leeper possessed firearms during the conspiracy to protect himself and others during drug transactions.

The criminal indictment was the result of an investigation by the Homeland Security Investigation (“HSI”), the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), and the Elizabethton and Carter County Joint Drug Task Force.  This investigation was led by HSI Special Agent John Bulla.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan L. Gomez represented the United States.  

The investigation resulted from the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s drug supply reduction strategy.  OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multi-level attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations.  Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement.  The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply.