Marble Falls meth dealer gets 70 years

A 58-year-old Marble Falls drug dealer was sentenced to 70 years in prison after being found guilty in a June 17 trial by a Burnet County jury. Jurors recommended the lengthy sentence, and 424th Judicial District Judge Evan Stubbs obliged. 

Chandler Rodgers was first arrested following an October 2024 traffic stop. During and after the arrest, authorities discovered hundreds of grams of methamphetamine in his possession. At his trial, he admitted his intent to sell and distribute the dangerous drug.

The case was prosecuted by 33rd/424th assistant district attorneys Michael Walker and Kelly Bazie.

“We are grateful for the sentence, the work of our law enforcement officers, and for the work of the members of the jury who delivered justice in this case,” Walker said in a June 24 media release announcing the verdict and sentence.

District Attorney Perry Thomas also weighed in.

“I am grateful for the joint efforts of the Burnet County Sheriff’s (Office), Marble Falls Police Department and the Llano County Sheriff’s (Office) in their work to stop drug dealers in the Texas Hill Country,” he said in the release. “People who deal drugs will not be tolerated in our counties, and this jury’s punishment shows that.”

Rodgers was charged with manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance in an amount greater than 400 grams-Possession Group 1, which includes methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine. If convicted, the crime carries a prison sentence of 10 years to 99 years and up to $100,000 in fines.

Rodgers was found to be in possession of 900 grams of methamphetamine in his vehicle during the October traffic stop conducted by the Burnet County Sheriff’s Office just outside of Marble Falls. This led to a wider joint investigation by the sheriff’s offices in Burnet and Llano counties and Marble Falls police.

Rodgers admitted his intent to sell and distribute the drugs following his arrest, according to the DA’s media release. After the arrest, law enforcement found another 400 grams of meth and several firearms at Rodgers’ home. After bonding out 11 days later, he was stopped by the MFPD and found with another 400 grams of meth in his vehicle.

“A guy like this, he is flooding our county with this amount of drugs,” DA Thomas told DailyTrib.com. “This is exactly the type of person that is preying on peoples’ addictions and weaknesses. This is a large amount of drugs, and he deserved a large amount of time.”

Thomas explained that an average meth user typically only has less than a gram, maybe 1-4 grams, of meth in their possession. 

METH FACTS

• The street price of methamphetamine in the United States can vary wildly depending on purity, availability, and location sold. 
• According to the most recent data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, a single gram of meth could be sold for $10 to $400 in the United States in 2018, but the price tended to not go above $100.
• A kilogram of the drug—1,000 grams—could be sold wholesale for about $12,000 in 2019. Typically, a dealer will acquire a whole kilogram at the wholesale price then sell it piecemeal at a higher price for profit.
• A single hit of meth might be as little as $5, but as addicts build up a tolerance to the high, they require more of the drug to reach the same sensation.
• According to the drug-abuse support organization Recovered, meth abuse can cost an addict $12,800 to $38,300 a year based on their level of dependency. 
• According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1.6 million Americans over the age of 18 reported some level of methamphetamine use between 2015 and 2018.

“Meth is highly addictive and stimulates the central nervous system,” reads a report from Into Action Recovery Centers. “In the short term, methamphetamine makes users feel a sense of euphoria. The drug lessens fatigue and makes the person feel more awake. Because meth creates a rapid release of high levels of dopamine, the drug produces a strong urge in the user to keep taking more so they can continue to stimulate their brain’s reward center.”

The negative side effects of meth use are many:

• extreme weight loss
• severe dental problems
• intense itching and scratching, leading to open sores on the body
• anxiety
• confusion
• memory loss
• sleeping problems
• violent behavior
• paranoia or an extreme and unreasonable distrust of others
• hallucinations or sensations and images that seem real but aren’t

Overdosing on meth can lead to stroke, heart attacks, or other organ problems. 

RESOURCES

• Learn more about treatment for methamphetamine addiction here.
• Open Door Recovery House is a Highland Lakes-based organization dedicated to helping women recover from drug addiction. Learn more here.
• His Joshua House is a Highland Lakes-based addiction recovery resource for men. Learn more here.

dakota@thepicayune.com