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Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. District Court.
A 58-year-old California man received a 30-year sentence today in Federal Court in St. Louis for drug trafficking and money laundering.
In February, Lester "Unc" Bull pleaded guilty to a slew of charges and admitted to being part of a conspiracy that brought at least 100 kilograms of marijuana into the St. Louis area.
Bull claimed to have no involvement with the distribution of harder drugs, but Judge Stephen R. Clark found these claims "not credible," according to a statement issued this afternoon by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
"In addition to the marijuana, Judge Clark found Bull responsible for 20 kilograms of methamphetamine, 5 kilograms of cocaine and 2.5 kilograms of fentanyl," the statement reads.
Suspicion first fell on the operation in 2016 when the U.S. Postal Inspection Service began investigating money orders being bought in the St. Louis area that were used to transfer money back to California.
Bull was arrested in October 2020 when investigators observed another individual alleged to be part of the conspiracy leave a house in Ferguson owned by Bull with 445 grams of meth.
Bull ran when investigators approached him. He jumped into a creek and was later discovered hiding in a dog house several blocks away.
A large amount of money, drugs and weapons were recovered from the house in Ferguson that was being surveilled.
A few days later, a search of the house where Bull was residing turned up more drugs and weapons. Authorities also found "drug records" which stated that Bull had sold over 500 pounds of marijuana in 2019 and 2020.
Four other individuals associated with the conspiracy have pleaded guilty. Two of whom remain to be sentenced.
