Jefferson County

Missouri Mom Who Attacked Son's Alleged Heroin Dealer With Baseball Bat Convicted

"She did what any good mother would do." So says the attorney of Sherrie Gavan, a 54-year-old Jefferson County mother who was convicted this week of third-degree assault for attacking a 22-year-old man with a baseball bat. What was her motive? She said the man was her son's drug dealer -- and ha ... More >>

Hit-and-Run: William Gallagher Allegedly Fled Cops, Crashed Car, Killed Virginia Bedrosian, 87

Update: St. Louis resident William Gallagher, eighteen, has been charged in the hit-and-run crash this week that killed 87-year-old Virginia Bedrosian. Our original coverage is below. A probable cause statement form the circuit attorney's office says that Gallagher is facing charges of second-degr ... More >>

Photos: Top Twelve Craziest Meth Busts In Missouri, The Meth Capital Of The U.S.

In case you missed it, Missouri is, yet again, number one in the nation for meth lab busts, new data shows. This is not much of a surprise to law enforcement officials in the state who deal with this every day -- especially those in Jefferson County, which has the second highest concentration of met ... More >>

Missouri Leads the Nation in Meth Labs (Again), Jefferson County Second Highest In Country

Toward the start of every new year, the Drug Enforcement Agency adds up the number of "meth incidents" from the previous year and divvies them up by state. More than once, Missouri has come out the state with the highest number of meth lab busts. The latest figures show that 2012 was another banner ... More >>

Imperial Couple Charged with Making Counterfeit $$$

On Monday a couple from Imperial in Jefferson County tried to pull a fast one on the Walmart in Kirkwood, according to the U.S. Attorney for Missouri's Eastern District. Misty Ann Root, 38, and Daniel Wayne Flynn, 37, were reportedly caught with $240 in phony $20 bills. Later that evening, authoriti ... More >>

Frank Fuchs Charged with Installing A Camera in A Price Chopper Bathroom

Jefferson County Sheriff's Department deputies were called out to the House Springs Price Chopper in the 4600 block of Gravois Road on Sunday afternoon for an unusual case:  A store employee had discovered a camera in the ceiling of the women's rest room.An employee also recognized the face of ... More >>

In Her Defense, She Really Had to Go

​An unidentified female suspect broke into a High Ridge business on Saturday night and stole two sweat shirts, according to the Jefferson County Sherrif's office police blotter. She really needed them, as she had peed herself so severely that she was wearing one sweatshirt in the traditional manne ... More >>

JeffCo Po-Po Transforms Police Cruisers into Stock Cars; Shake and Bake!

Shake and Bake is a popular method for cooking drugs in Missouri's Meth Capital of Jefferson County. Shake and Bake is also the greatest stock-car race strategy ever invented.​The press release below might raise eyebrow if it were coming out of the Ladue or Frontenac police departments. But the Je ... More >>

St. Louis Smoking Summit a Dud

​We had imagined yesterday's "smoking summit" for St. Louis area officials would look something like this. Only instead of beer, the table would be full of ashtrays and mounds and mounds of those famously cheap Missouri cigarettes. After a bit of frank discussion, the officials would sit back and ... More >>

Dump Unwanted Prescription Drugs This Saturday

​In recent years, the act of raiding mom and dad's liquor cabinet has spun off into raiding grandma's medicine cabinet for kids who want to get buzzed. "Pharm parties" have cropped up across the nation, involving prescription drugs like Oxycodone, Fentanyl and Percoset. Opiate-drug addictions, ... More >>

Red-Light Camera Firm ATS Pulls Out of Jefferson County

ATS cancels contract prior to hearing next week before council.​American Traffic Solutions (ATS) abruptly severed its contract with Jefferson County this week stating that it could could no longer work with a new Jefferson County council that's become hostile to its red-light cameras.ATS broke the ... More >>

Buddy Ferguson: Burglar Suspect Caught Sawing Through Roof

Gee whiz, Buddy. That wasn't too smart. ​A clerk at a south St. Louis convenience store was alerted to a strange sound early yesterday morning that turned out to be a burglar attempting to saw his way through the roof.The incident occurred around 5:20 a.m. Tuesday in the 9300 block of Broadway Str ... More >>

Concerned Citizens Win Round in Crystal City -- Internet Anonymity at Issue

A Jefferson County Circuit Court judge erred when he threw out a lawsuit filed by gadflies in Crystal City, the Missouri Court of Appeals said in an opinion released today.Jennifer SilverbergConcerned citizens rose up to fight a smelter in Crystal City -- and won one round today.​The gadflies -- w ... More >>

Jared Winters: Charged with Manslaughter After Shooting Friend in Face with Arrow

​A twenty-year-old man has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and first-degree assault in a bizarre hunting mishap yesterday in Byrnes Mill, Missouri -- some 25 miles southwest of St. Louis. Jared Winters was reportedly hunting with a 15-year-old friend in the woods near their homes in Jef ... More >>

Charles Brown Jr.: Alleged Burglar Greeted with .357 Magnum

Jefferson County Sheriff's DepartmentCharles Brown Jr.​Good grief, Charles Brown. This isn't how life works in the Peanuts comic strip. In that pleasant world, the worst thing to happen to ol' Charlie is when Lucy pulls the football just as he's about to kick it. Charles Brown Jr. of Jefferson Cou ... More >>

Sheriff's Department Raffles Off a Shotgun a Month After Heinous Shotgun Shooting

Jake West: Ended a Jeff. Co. party with a shotgun blast last month.​We here at Daily RFT were somewhat taken aback yesterday by a press release from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department announcing its plans to raffle off a shotgun for charity. We're all for good causes, especially Backstopper ... More >>

Woman Assigned Essay as Punishment for Mistreating, Killing 7 Dogs

The thought of being left in a hot car makes this puppy sad.​Everyone says that high school never really ends. It turns out that the aphorism is true, as proven by the legal punishment doled out this morning to Mary Wild, a professional dog handler from Arnold. Wild's job was to transport and show ... More >>

West Nile Buzzes Into Missouri Early This Year

When mosquitoes attack -- an artist's rendering.​Arm yourselves, Missourians: Mosquitoes carrying the deadly West Nile virus have been discovered in north and south St. Louis county, as well as Jefferson County. No human cases have been reported this summer, as of yet, but keep an eye out for th ... More >>

Ass Clown of the Week: Candy Vendors, Bounty Hunters, Crazy Lovers, Bungled Burglars

​Something tells me this week's Ass Clown is going to be a landslide, but we'll let you the reader determine that. You know the rules: vote for the local yokel whose words or deeds you found to be the most humiliating and/or shameful.And the nominees... 1. Anthony McGowan: The Collinsville man arr ... More >>

Bondsmen Accused of Wiping Man's Genitals with Pepper Spray, Demanding Oral Sex

Junkie's Bail Bonds presents...​The bail bondsmen found their quarry June 5 in Soulard, a suspect wanted in Jefferson County for probation violation and jumping bail. The man also owed Junkie's Bail Bonds of Crystal City $225, and the bondsmen were going to make sure the suspect paid -- in more wa ... More >>

South County Shooting Spree Leads to Three Arrests in Metro East

Three men are in custody on suspicion of shooting two men late last night and early this morning in the south St. Louis County. The first shooting occurred neary Jefferson Barracks Park. The second shooting followed minutes later at Baumgartner and Telegraph.​According to St. Louis County Police ... More >>

They Really Know How to Play All the Angles in Alabama

Don't know much about geometry.​Taking a geometry class in at least one county in Alabama has to be real hoot. Yes siree, there's a math teach at Corner High School in Jefferson County, who, God love 'em, figured the best way to instruct his students on the fine art of "parallel line ... More >>

Senate Bill Would Bar All Missouri Drivers From Texting

Texting while pedaling would still be permitted in Missouri.​The Missouri Senate yesterday unanimously approved a bill that outlaws texting while driving for all motorists in the state. Last summer state legislators approved a similar law that applies only for drivers under the age of 21. The bill ... More >>

Saint Louis Zoo Will Remain Free for All -- Even "Zoosiers"

Image sourceEven if you're from -- omigod! -- Jefferson County, they'll still let you in. For free.​Mayor Slay just Tweeted earlier this afternoon that the Saint Louis Zoo will remain free for all visitors. "A gift from city and county taxpayers," he writes.Last week the Missouri Senate had voted ... More >>

The Popular Click: Daily RFT's Biggest Posts of 2009

This is a medium-sized post, so it wouldn't make the cut.​We began 2009 with a new name for this blog (it used to go by "Stlog" if you remember) and yada-yada-yada now we are in December, looking back on, oh about 2,391 posts. Here -- in no specific order -- are the ten most popular posts of '09. ... More >>

Warning to Smurfers and Meth Cooks: State Reps Want to Block Your Supply Line

http://www.flickr.com/photos/viknanda/ / CC BY 2.0​As you and your seedier friends know, one cannot buy huge amounts of meth ingredients, such as pseudoephedrine, in the same place at the same time in Missouri. What you can do, however, is go "smurfing," i.e., pharmacy-hopping to purchase many sma ... More >>

Why Not Require Prescriptions for Psuedoephedrine?

​Today's Post-Dispatch has an interesting article about psuedoephedrine -- one of the key ingredients for the making of meth. Yesterday, officials in Union joined another Franklin County city -- Washington -- to become the second municipality in the nation to require a prescription for the sale of ... More >>

U.S. Drug Czar to Unveil New Anti-Meth Campaign in Drug's Hotspot: St. Louis

​Whatever your feelings about the Obama administration, you can't say that the president's office ignores St. Louis. Obama chose to visit the nearby suburb of Arnold for his 100th day in office. A couple month's later the prez returned to St. Louis to throw out the first pitch at the All-Star Game ... More >>

Counterfeiters Turn $5 Bills into $100

flickr.com/photos/escapist​Retailers in Jefferson County, Missouri, may want to think twice about accepting $100 bills from customers. Today Sheriff Oliver "Glenn" Boyer sent out a release warning of two white males (of no approximate age) who've been passing fake $100 bills in the county just sou ... More >>

Jefferson County to Jefferson Countians: Quit Smoking Fatsos

Namesake Thomas Jefferson was never fat.​The Jefferson County Health Department recently released an assessment on the health of its residents. The results? Not good.   The survey found that...30.3 percent of residents are at risk for stroke due to obesity23.5 percent have high cholesterol42 ... More >>

Satisfy Your Inner Caveman in Unusual Festus Home

eBayHave you seen the curious local home for sale on eBay? The property is built inside one of the old sand mines that run along the Mississippi River south of St. Louis in Jefferson County.According to the description on eBay, the owners are behind on the balloon note they used to finance the proje ... More >>

"Special" Meeting Tonight Likely to Touch on Crystal City Smelter

The Crystal City Planning & Zoning Committee will hold a "special" meeting tonight ostensibly to discuss a controversial smelter project slated for construction in the Jefferson County municipality. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall and is expected include a public comment session, al ... More >>

Opponents of Crystal City Smelter Poised for Thursday Night Showdown

This just in from the Concerned Citizens for Crystal City (C4). Mining concern Wings Enterprises of Sullivan, Missouri, is moving forward with its plans to build a controversial iron-ore smelter in the Jefferson County town of Crystal City.On Thursday night, the Crystal City Planning and Zoning Boar ... More >>

Sale of Airport Could Clear Way for Iron-Ore Smelter

Remember the controversy last year surrounding a proposed iron-ore smelter in Crystal City? I do, but then that's because I spent weeks journeying to Jefferson County to report on a citizens group's effort to derail the project despite the wishes of City Hall and developer Jim Kennedy of Wings Enter ... More >>

Post-Dispatch Lays Off Seventeen, Including its Primary Crime Reporter

Anti-Smelter Slate Wins in Crystal City

Smelterville

Crystal City forges one hell of a deal.

Helter-Smelter

Lawsuits fly as Crystal City residents try to stop construction of a pig iron production plant.

Urban Legendary

Did anyone really drug and rape Sheila Shulz’s friend?

Fish Sick

Unreal always cleans our plate, but now we're a little nervous about fish. Oh, and hot dogs. Plus -- the cops don't like it when you fake a carjacking. Who knew?

Letters

Week of August 10, 2005

Letters

Week of August 3, 2005

Letters

Week of July 20, 2005

Methmaker, Methmaker, Make Me Some Meth

Unreal finds good meth-lab locations and talks to a young lady making her way in the world (with the help of semi-nude photos); Bill Haas gets honest; and we (and Denny's) find several ways to play with our food

Best Place to Have Sex in Public

Anywhere in Jefferson County -- as long as you're not gay

Sucker-Punched

Jefferson County nailed them in an adult-business raid. Like it or not, they're poster boys in a fight to fix Missouri's sex laws.

Letters

Week of July 4, 2001

Letters

Week of February 14, 2001

Unlucky Town

Published the week of Aug. 23-29, 2000

Embracing Sprawl

Jefferson County elected officials ditch an award-winning master plan in favor of unbridled residential development