Four arrested in Perry County meth raid

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Four Perryville residents were being held Friday on large cash-only bonds following a raid on a methamphetamine lab, Perry County Sheriff Gary Schaaf said.

The arrests followed a months-long investigation that culminated with a raid May 5 on West North Street in Perryville, Schaaf said. "We finally got enough information to justify a search warrant."

Sheriff's deputies, officers from the SEMO Drug Task Force and the Perryville Police Department took part in the raid.

Officers arrested Brian K. Oakley, 36, Jennifer R. Oakley, 30, Steven W. King, 35, and Teresa L. Koenig, 51, who all gave their address as the home where the raid took place.

Brian Oakley faces four felony counts, including methamphetamine possession, two counts of marijuana possession and providing the ingredients to make a controlled substance, as well as two misdemeanor charges for marijuana possession and drug paraphernalia, and is being held on a $20,000 cash-only bond.

King faces five felony charges, including producing marijuana within a school zone, distributing a controlled substance, possession of chemicals with the intent to produce meth and using drug paraphernalia to consume meth and possession of methamphetamine precursors, as well as a misdemeanor charge of using drug paraphernalia, and is being held on a $50,000 cash-only bond.

Jennifer Oakley and Koenig face identical charges of a single felony count of providing materials to make an illegal substance and a single misdemeanor count each of possession of drug paraphernalia. The bond for each woman was set at $10,000, cash only.

The number of methamphetamine incidents reported to the Missouri State Highway Patrol continues to decrease, Gov. Matt Blunt said Friday.

Figures for 2006 show that 1,284 meth incidents were reported, down 984 from the year before. And in the first three months of this year, the pace slowed further with 250 meth incidents reported.

A meth incident includes chemical, equipment and glass seizures as well as dump sites for disposing the residue from meth labs. "We are making significant progress in our efforts to combat the dangers of meth but more must be done to eliminate the scourge," Blunt said in a prepared statement.

Blunt said he is supporting pending legislation that would require immediate reporting of purchases of pseudoephedrine products, a key ingredient in meth.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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