Area lawyer gets trial date for alleged sale of oxycodone

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- A Poplar Buff lawyer arrested for selling prescription drugs in Stoddard County in December 2006 now has a trial date. Richard J. Bascom, 42, will be tried before Judge Stephen Sharp in a Stoddard County courtroom on Jan. 22, 2010. He was arrested Dec.4, 2006, as part of a roundup in Stoddard County of those suspected of selling prescription drugs and also faces other drug-related charges. Bascom was charged with two counts of felony of distribution of a controlled substance (oxycodone) and the misdemeanor of possession of drug paraphernalia. Bascom was booked at the Poplar Bluff city jail and was later transferred to the Stoddard County Justice Center on a $50,000 cash only bond. He posted bond and was released. At the time of his arrest, Bascom claimed he was innocent of all charges against him.