Sex offender sentenced for meth possession

MOSES LAKE — A convicted sex offender was sentenced for methamphetamine possession after the drug was found at his Moses Lake residence during the execution of a search warrant.

Ronald Keeler Jr., 40, of Moses Lake, pleaded guilty in Grant County Superior Court to possession of methamphetamine and was sentenced to six months in jail, with 30 days of confinement converted to 240 hours of community service. Keeler has previous convictions of first-degree rape in Grant County Juvenile Court in 1993, first-degree rape of a child in Stevens County Superior Court in 1997, failure to register as a sex offender in Grant County Superior Court in 2016 and attempted possession of methamphetamine in Grant County Superior Court in 2017.

Keeler’s new sentence relates to a March 2017 call received by the Moses Lake Police Department from a man who claimed he had been raped in the 1000 block of West Marina Drive. Police determined Keeler was living at the location where the incident allegedly took place and discovered he had a warrant out for his arrest for failure to transfer a title.

The alleged victim said on March 22 he went to Keeler’s residence because he “expected” him to have some meth. The two smoked meth, after which the man claims Keeler locked his apartment door and proceeded to perform a sexual act on him and later raped him at least twice.

Police applied for and obtained a search warrant for Keeler’s residence and executed the search on March 30. Police located pieces of evidence in the residence that seemed to corroborate portions of the alleged victim’s account of what occurred. In addition, officers located a small bag containing .3 grams of meth and a meth pipe.

Keeler admitted the alleged victim came over to his residence and claimed the meth was his own, but he denied having sexual contact with the man. The alleged victim underwent a sexual assault examination and pieces of evidence from Keeler’s residence were sent to a crime lab for analysis. Keeler’s semen was found on a tan blanket that was found at the first location where the man claimed he was raped. Keeler was ultimately not charged in connection with the man’s claims however.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.