St. Peters Criminal Defense Law Blog

Missouri investigators who busted a massive cocaine-trafficking ring in the Springfield area reportedly got a surprise when they met the group's leader. Police discovered that the man was intelligent, polished businessman.

The 35-year-old man has been described as an unusual drug distributor because of his business savvy and extensive religious knowledge. He was described by officers as "intellectual," an assertion that was put to the test when the man chose to defend himself against drug charges in court.

A woman dubbed the "Ganja Grandma" has been apprehended after authorities alleged that she had been distributing marijuana to recipients in four states, including Missouri. The 73-year-old woman faces drug charges for selling and distributing the drug throughout multiple states.

Police officials say they found about four pounds of marijuana in the woman's home, along with several firearms and more than $275,000 in cash. Investigators claim that the woman had cornered the market in her region with an estimated 40 percent of marijuana sales in the area traced back to her operation. Authorities had spent considerable time searching for the head of a regional drug ring, but they did not discover that the elderly woman was in charge until recently.

A recent DWI arrest has rocked the Missouri law enforcement community. One police official was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving while on St. Louis roads.

In a bizarre incident earlier this month, the executive director of the St. Louis Major Case Squad was taken into custody after being arrested at a DWI checkpoint. The man, a former police captain for the city, was driving on a local road when he was apprehended.

While at a Missouri gas station last fall, a man and woman got into an intense argument over whether or not the man would move his car. Unexpectedly, the quarrel escalated. This caused the man to reach into his car to grab a firearm and put it into his waistband, but never removed the weapon and waved it around or pointed it at anyone. At this point, the woman called police in order to inform them that the man was in possession of a firearm.

Now, the man is on trial for unlawful use of a weapon, which is a felony crime under Missouri law. According to reports, the man has a valid license to carry a concealed weapon, making this case particularly convoluted. The most important aspect of the case, is determining whether or not the man was threatening the woman with the weapon. Despite initially telling police that she did not feel threatened by the man's actions, the woman now says she and her daughters felt as though the man intended to harm them. Furthermore, the woman had difficulty identifying the man she accused of intending to harm her when she was on the witness stand.