KC Reporter

A woman from Lebanon, Missouri, has been sentenced to 15 years and eight months in federal prison for her involvement in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy. Evelyn J. Dame, aged 50, received the sentence from U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool and will serve her term without parole.

Dame had pleaded guilty on April 15, 2024, to participating in the conspiracy that operated in Christian and Greene counties between December 16, 2020, and June 2, 2022. The case involved law enforcement officers conducting a traffic stop on May 6, 2021, where Dame was a passenger. Before the vehicle stopped, she admitted to discarding a duffel bag containing two one-pound bags of methamphetamine, five smaller baggies of methamphetamine within a black zipper case, and $4,220 cash identified as proceeds from drug distribution.

The driver of the vehicle was Kevin Bruce Rogers, who was later identified as a victim in an unsolved homicide case.

Dame's criminal history includes a prior federal felony conviction for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. She served three years in prison starting July 2013 and faced further incarceration after violating supervised release terms in October 2018 due to possession of a controlled substance.

This sentencing follows those of other defendants involved in the same case. Robert Jason Smith from Ozark received a sentence of 25 years on September 30, 2024. Jill M. Matthews also from Ozark was sentenced to 18 months on November 14, 2024. Another co-defendant Terry M. Schenks has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica R. Eatmon is prosecuting this case which involves multiple agencies including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Christian County Sheriff's Department; Springfield Police Department; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Drug Enforcement Administration; and Greene County Sheriff's Department.

This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) initiative aimed at dismantling high-level criminal organizations through coordinated efforts among various agencies.