Cape man pleads innocent to federal charges

Cape man pleads innocent to federal charges

A Cape Girardeau man pleaded innocent Monday to federal charges of drug distribution.

Charles E. Jones, 29, entered his plea during a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lewis M. Blanton in the Cape Girardeau federal courthouse.

Jones also waived a detention hearing and would remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals office, Assistant U.S. Attorney Abbie Crites-Leoni said.

The defendant is charged in an indictment with two counts of distributing five or more grams of cocaine base for an alleged drug sale April 25, 2003, and on June 4, 2003.

The federal charges were announced after Jones was acquitted in state court of felony distribution of a controlled substance near a school.

Following a day-long jury Tuesday, the jury found Jones innocent of selling $450 of cocaine to a confidential informant out of his apartment in Village on the Green on March 11, 2005.

Jones was next scheduled to appear in federal court for pre-trial motions at 9:30 a.m. on May 4.