A Lexington woman has agreed to plead guilty in federal court after authorities say she was caught transporting nearly 10 kilograms of methamphetamine from Chicago back to Central Kentucky.
Blake E. Rossi entered into a plea agreement with federal prosecutors this month, agreeing to plead guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, according to court records filed in U.S. District Court in Frankfort. In exchange, prosecutors will dismiss a separate conspiracy charge at sentencing.
The case stems from a December 2024 traffic stop on Interstate 64 in Shelby County, where investigators say Rossi was driving back toward Lexington after a trip arranged by others to pick up a large load of drugs.
According to the plea agreement, agents with the Department of Homeland Security began investigating Rossi in October 2024 after receiving information that she was acting as a drug transporter for other people. Investigators installed a pole camera at her residence in the Eastern District of Kentucky and placed a tracking device on her vehicle.
On Dec. 8, 2024, the tracker showed Rossi’s vehicle in Chicago before it began traveling back toward Kentucky, prosecutors said. The following day, Kentucky State Police stopped her vehicle on I-64 in Shelby County after observing a traffic violation.
During the stop, troopers learned Rossi had a suspended driver’s license and no insurance, according to court filings. A K-9 unit alerted to the odor of drugs coming from the vehicle, and a search uncovered about 11 kilograms of suspected crystal methamphetamine inside a suitcase in the rear seat, along with three pounds of marijuana.
Laboratory testing later confirmed the seizure contained 9,872 grams — nearly 10 kilograms — of actual methamphetamine, prosecutors said.
After being advised of her rights, Rossi told investigators she traveled to Chicago at the direction of another person to pick up the drugs and planned to deliver them to someone else in the Lexington area, according to the plea agreement.
Rossi was originally charged by complaint in January 2025 and later indicted by a federal grand jury on two felony counts: conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. She was initially held in custody, then released under strict conditions that were later modified to include home detention and electronic monitoring.
Federal prosecutors later sought to revoke her pretrial release, citing violations of release conditions. After a bond revocation hearing in November, a magistrate judge found Rossi had violated the terms of her release but ruled that she could remain free under existing conditions while awaiting trial.
Under the plea agreement, Rossi faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, with a maximum possible sentence of life, along with a fine of up to $10 million and at least five years of supervised release. The agreement also requires her to cooperate with federal authorities, including providing full financial disclosures.
The parties agreed to recommend several sentencing reductions, including adjustments for a minor role in the offense and for meeting the criteria of the federal “safety valve,” which allows judges to sentence below mandatory minimums in certain drug cases. The final sentence will be determined by U.S. District Judge Gregory F. VanTatenhove.
Rossi is scheduled to formally enter her guilty plea at a rearraignment hearing on Jan. 21 in Frankfort. If accepted, sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.
