Monte Vista man sentenced to 16 years for gun and drug crimes

DURANGO, Colo. (KRDO) -- A Monte Vista man will be spending 16 years in federal prison for gun and drug crimes, the U.S. Attorney's Office for Colorado announced Tuesday.

Karl Kloeppel was sentenced Tuesday to 192 months (16 years) in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release for possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime.

According to court documents, Kloeppel was a convicted felon and established drug dealer operating in the San Luis Valley. On October 16, 2020, Khe was under surveillance by federal agents and local law enforcement on a pending state warrant when he left his residence in a BMW with approximately 210 grams of pure methamphetamine and a .45 caliber handgun. When a state trooper pulled him over, he handed the drugs and gun to the passenger in the BMW and ordered him to “put it in his pants.” Law enforcement later executed a later search warrant for Kloeppel’s home and found video of him holding the gun and drugs before entering the car.

A search warrant for Kloeppel's phone also found many text messages about buying and selling drugs. After the federal indictment, Kloeppel asked his girlfriend on a recorded phone call from jail to “throw herself under the bus” by claiming possession of the drugs and going to prison instead.

“Mr. Kloeppel was caught red-handed with thousands of doses of methamphetamine and a .45 caliber handgun, but tried to deflect the blame on others,” said U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan. “Let me be clear: if you deal drugs and possess illegal weapons in the San Luis Valley, you will be caught and spend years of your life in prison.”