GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A judge sentenced a Kalamazoo man to decades in prison for methamphetamine trafficking, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten announced Wednesday.
Chief U.S. District Judge Hala Y. Jarbou sentenced 48-year-old Rocky Parker to 20 years behind bars.
Judge Jarbou cited Parker’s “significant number of prior felony convictions,” including many related to controlled substances.
Totten says Parker’s prior crimes garnered him the highest criminal history category under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
“I am grateful to our law enforcement partners for their investigative work on this case,” Totten said. “My office will remain focused on disrupting the supply lines that bring drugs into our communities and destroy so many lives.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team (KVET) started investigating Parker for drug trafficking after getting a series of tips claiming Parker was a pound-level dealer of meth in Kalamazoo.
The investigation ended up yielding 1.4 kilograms of meth across six purchases from Parker.
Investigators learned Parker went to Phoenix and Las Vegas on two occasions in June and July to meet with his sources of supply.
The DEA and KVET say they learned during the second trip that Parker was shipping meth back to Kalamazoo, so they intercepted and searched a package destined for Parker.
That package yielded another 1.3 kilograms of meth.
Then, they learned about a third trip Parker was planning to get more meth.
Investigators say they pulled over Parker in Berrien County on August 1, 2023, on his way back from the third trip.
That’s when investigators say Parker threw a duffle bag out of the passenger window as he was stopping the car.
Police searched the bag and found another 1.3 kilograms of meth, so they arrested Parker, and he was charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Parker pleaded guilty to the charge that September.
“This case was a successful collaboration between our state and federal partners,” Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Chief David Boysen said. “We are pleased to see that Mr. Parker is facing the consequences of his crimes.”
