Drug Task Force Finds Meth Labs in St. Charles County Home

St. Charles County man charged with making, possessing methamphetamine.

St. Charles County Drug Task Force detectives found several meth labs in a home between St. Peters and Dardenne Prairie. Benjamin S. Rhoades, 28, of the first block of Post Oak Drive, was charged Friday with manufacturing and possessing methamphetamine in his home. During a search, detectives found multiple “one-pot” meth labs, meth ingredients and a baggie of tan powder that field tested positive for meth, according to the drug task force report. Detectives said in the report that Rhoades said he made meth for his own addiction, but said he took steps to keep his family safe from the dangerous chemicals.

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Meth Bust Follows Request for Camera to Film Government Agents

St. Peters man asked Best Buy employees for equipment to take video of agents who followed him because he was making meth.

A St. Peters man was arrested for making meth after asking Best Buy sales staff for a video camera to record government agents following him, according to a St. Charles County Regional Drug Task Force report. James D. Heck, 31, of St. Peters, was charged Wednesday with intent to make methamphetamine. On Tuesday, detectives found meth ingredients in his home in the first block of Spencer Valley Drive, according to a drug task force report. Residue in containers field-tested positive for meth, detectives said in the report. Detectives said they obtained a search warrant for Heck’s home after he told Best Buy employees that government employees were following him because he was cooking meth. According to the report, he also told employees he …

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St. Peters Man Charged with Making Meth

St. Charles County Sheriff’s investigators found he had bought pseudoephedrine 17 times in 17 months.

A St. Peters man was charged Wednesday with making methamphetamine. St. Charles County Sheriff’s investigators found Shawn Stearman, 45, of the 1500 block of Ticonderoga Court, bought pseudoephedrine 17 times in 17 months, and his nephew, Jacob Hamilton, bought the same meth ingredient 12 times in nine months. Stearman and his mother gave consent to search his room, his car and her home, where Stearman rented a room, according to a St. Charles County Sheriff’s Department report. Officers found a cold pack taken apart, lithium batteries and five grams of pseudoephedrine hidden under the hood of Stearman’s vehicle. All are used to make meth. Hamilton told investigators that most of Stearman’s lab and meth were hidden in a wooded area, buried…

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Man Crashes into Sewer, Leaves Scene, Has Meth Ingredient, Slugs Inmate

The man drove into and damaged a sewer at Oak Berry Court in unincorporated St. Charles County just west of St. Peters.

A St. Louis County man drove off the road April 19 at Oak Berry Court and damaged a sewer before driving off, according to a St. Charles County Sheriff’s Department report. When Sheriff’s deputies pulled over Jayson Crisel, 39, of Overland, they said he also had 48 tablets cold tablets containing pseudoephedrine in his car, an ingredient used to make methamphetamine. While at the St. Charles County Department of Corrections, Crisel was coming out of the bathroom when he struck a handcuffed inmate in the eye. When asked why he struck the inmate, Crisel said he thought he knew him. Crisel is being charged with possessing chemicals with intent to make meth, leaving the scene of an accident and third-degree assault. Oak Berry Court is just …

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St. Peters Man Busted for Meth Lab at Scooter Shop

Owner of Brad's Scooters, Bradley E. Gelber, was one of four people arrested during a St. Charles County crackdown on meth labs.

Meth Ingredient Sales Spike in St. Louis County Cities Near St. Charles County

After prescriptions are required for pseudoephedrine products in St. Charles County, the allergy medication sales jumped significantly in Bridgeton, Maryland Heights and Chesterfield.

Sales of pseudoephedrine in St. Louis County cities bordering St. Charles County spiked in September after St. Charles County banned over-the-counter sales, according to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article. Sales were especially high in cities near bridges connecting St. Charles and St. Louis counties. In Bridgeton, sales in September jumped 81 percent over August. In Maryland Heights, they increased 59 percent, while in Chesterfield they increased 51 percent. The Post-Dispatch reported that industry representatives attributed the increase to allergy sufferers in St. Charles, Jefferson and Franklin Counties. A registered nurse noted allergies flare up in the fall when weather changes, during ragweed and pollen season. “I don’t know if I’d …

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Officials Aim to Curb Meth Production in St. Charles County

On Monday, the St. Charles County Council voted 7-0 to approve requiring prescriptions for cold medications containing ephedrine and pseudoephedrine.

Monday night, St. Charles County joined dozens of other Missouri communities in requiring a physician’s prescription to purchase cold medicines containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine. The compounds are staples for the manufacture of methamphetamine, and county officials said the new regulations are aimed at curbing meth production throughout St. Charles County. The County Council passed the new requirement in a unanimous 7-0 vote. Council Chairman Joe Brazil, R-2nd District, noted that in only six months this year, more than 100 meth labs had been discovered in St. Charles County, topping last year’s 92 in half the time. Brazil said it was the council’s duty to act. Councilmember Paul Wynn, R- 4th District, originally did not support the …

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County Council Approves Requiring Prescriptions for Cold Medications

On Monday night, the council voted 7-0 to join Jefferson, Franklin and Lincoln counties in requiring doctors' orders for ephedrine and pseudoephedrine to help crack down on meth users.

St. Charles County Council approved a law requiring prescriptions for certain cold medications to make the drugs more difficult for meth producers to obtain.  The council voted 7-0 to require prescriptions for medications that include ephedrine or pseudoephedrine during their regular meeting on Monday night.  The law, introduced during the July 11 meeting, is part of a four-county effort to keep the medications out of the hands of drug users. Patch previously reported that Jefferson, Franklin and Lincoln county officials will propose similar laws. Read Patch on Tuesday for more information. 

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Elizabeth

9:36 am on Wednesday, July 27, 2011

While I admire your goal, your logic is flawed. No matter how many laws you pass, you will never eliminate abuses. What is killing America is that no one is held to personal responsibility anymore. I occasionally need Sudafed for relief. I don't take Meth or any other illegal drug, why should I be punished because someone else does? The problem with the banning and / or governmental control …   more ›

Officials Consider Prescriptions to Keep Meds Away From Meth Users

St. Charles County officials may join with those from Jefferson, Franklin and Lincoln counties in requiring doctors' orders for ephedrine and pseudoephedrine.

The St. Charles County Council took one more step toward requiring prescriptions for cold medication that include ephedrine or pseudoephedrine. The law, introduced during the council meeting Monday, is part of a four-county effort to make the drugs more difficult to obtain for meth producers. Jefferson, Franklin and Lincoln county officials announced last week they will propose similar laws. St. Charles County Sheriff Tom Neer told council members requiring prescriptions for the drugs is the most effective way to keep them away from meth producers and users. “These people choose to poison their bodies, endanger their children and their neighbors and engage in theft and other crimes to support their habit,” Neer said. More than 40 counties …

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