Barnhart man sentenced to 15 years in prison for drugs | Police fire

Kevin Joseph Myers, 31, of Barnhart, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree drug trafficking, drug possession and tampering, court records show.

On Sept. 6, Jefferson County 5th District Court Judge Victor Melenbrink sentenced Myers to 15 years in prison for drug trafficking, seven years each for four counts of possession of a controlled substance and seven years for first-degree tampering. Myers was also sentenced to 10 days in jail for each of the misdemeanors, including three counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, two counts of fourth-degree assault and driving under the influence, court documents show.

Myers will serve the prison terms concurrently or concurrently, and he received credit for time already served for each of the 10-day sentences. He pleaded guilty to six felony counts and six misdemeanor counts on June 18, court records say.

Jefferson County Assistant District Attorney Lindsay Whalen prosecuted these cases.

Myers was arrested three times between May and July 2022. According to court records, he was arrested twice in House Springs and once in Festus.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Myers was arrested by a Jefferson County Sheriff's Office officer on May 15, 2022, after he was seen sleeping in a vehicle outside a home on Verdant Drive in House Springs. Myers was speaking to the paramedic when the officer arrived, and Myers had a syringe and a marijuana cigarette on his lap.

Myers told the officer he was not diabetic and had not taken any drugs. When the officer searched Myers, he found a large amount of methamphetamine in his pocket, with some of the meth packaged in small baggies, the report said.

The officer also discovered that the vehicle Myers was in had been reported stolen by St. Charles police, the report said.

Myers was arrested again on May 26, 2022, after he was involved in an altercation outside a home on Menkhus Avenue in Festus. He had been sleeping in a vehicle outside the home after a woman who lived there let him spend the night in the vehicle after picking him up from Twin City Laundry the night before, according to the probable cause statement in the case.

Myers called 911 and claimed he was attacked by a group of juveniles who threw his belongings from the vehicle onto the ground. However, a man who lived at the home said Myers attacked a woman inside the home and the man struck Myers twice because he believed Myers was attacking a young man and the woman, the report said.

The man said he punched Myers once and hit him with an aluminum bar to stop him from attacking the young man and woman. Myers was walking away from the house when a Festus police officer arrived, according to the report.

Myers told the officer he had items on him that the officer missed during his pat-down. The officer found a baggie containing a crystal-like substance and a glass pipe in the waistband of Myers' underwear, the report said.

A Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper arrested Myers on July 14, 2022, near the intersection of West Four Ridge Road and Highway 21 in House Springs. Myers was found slumped behind the wheel of a moving vehicle that was partially blocking the road, according to the probable cause statement in the case.

The police officer found meth, fentanyl, ecstasy, marijuana and drug paraphernalia in the vehicle, the report said.

According to court records, Myers still faces a felony charge in St. Charles County.

On March 10, 2022, he was arrested for unlawful possession of a weapon, a Class D felony punishable by up to seven years in prison, reckless and careless driving, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $2,000, and driving under the influence, a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in prison and a fine of up to $1,000, court records show.

On May 30, 2022, Myers was arrested by O'Fallon police and charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance, both of which are Class D felonies punishable by up to seven years in prison, according to court records.

Court records show Myers is a repeat offender.

In August 2012, Myers pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and two counts of armed criminal action in St. Louis County. In October 2012, he also pleaded guilty to theft in St. Louis County, according to court documents.

According to court records, Myers was sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison.