Farmer charged with selling anhydrous for meth

DEXTER, Mo. -- A sting operation Tuesday netted a Dudley farmer who allegedly has been selling anhydrous ammonia to area methamphetamine cooks over an extended period of time, and law enforcement officials say other farmers may be selling the fertilizer to raise extra cash.

John David Jackson, 48, faces five felony counts related to possession and distribution of anhydrous ammonia, said Stoddard County sheriff's deputy Dennis Fowler, who is assigned to the SEMO Drug Task Force.

On Wednesday Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Briney Welborn charged Jackson with the Class C felony of possession of a precursor and four Class D felonies of possession of drug paraphernalia for the manufacture of meth, illegal transport of anhydrous ammonia, unlawful delivery of anhydrous ammonia and illegal delivery of drug paraphernalia.

Jackson is being held in the Stoddard County Jail on $250,000 cash bond.

"For at least two years we've been getting pretty significant information about Jackson being an alleged distributor of anhydrous ammonia," Fowler said. "We don't believe he's a cook. ... Basically, he was selling it for cash."

Jackson was allegedly offering a 20-pound tank of anhydrous for $350 and a 100-pound liquid propane tank of anhydrous for $2,000, Fowler said.

Normally, anhydrous sells for about $200 a ton.

"We've know for years now that he was doing this, but it's like everything. There are a lot of things you know," Fowler said. "You have to wait until an opportunity presents itself and a means of attack comes your way."

Authorities know of at least two who have admitted to buying anhydrous from Jackson, Fowler said. He said Jackson was selling primarily to cooks in Stoddard and Butler counties.

Federal investigation

The investigation into Jackson's activities intensified about three weeks ago. It was then that local narcotics officers learned that a federal Drug Enforcement Administration investigation in St. Louis had ties to Stoddard and Butler county.

"We've worked for a week getting it together," Fowler said. "The combination of their investigation up there and our investigation down here, we were able to develop a means to actually get delivery of some of the anhydrous from him using an informant.

A search of Jackson's house and outbuildings led to the seizure of a 300-gallon anhydrous ammonia tank in a shed behind the house and more than 3,000 pseudoephedrine pills.

As a farmer, Jackson had a legitimate reason to purchase anhydrous ammonia, which is a fertilizer, but "most farmers do not keep anhydrous year round," Fowler said. "They rent it in bulk on the trailer buggies and they return the buggies back to the distributor or co-op."

Possible trend

With today's tight economy and rising fuel prices, more farmers might be tempted to follow Jackson's lead and try to make extra cash selling anhydrous ammonia for illicit use.

Jackson wasn't the first Southeast Missouri farmer arrested under such circumstances, said Kevin Glaser of the SEMO Drug Task Force. Another farmer from New Madrid was arrested two years ago and prosecuted under meth charges, he said.

"We've gotten reports of it occurring," Glaser said. "It's not extensive, but this was not the first instance of something like this. Occasionally, we get information about farmers who are slipping over to the dark side by selling anhydrous at a substantially higher price than what they paid for it."

Glaser doesn't suspect it will be a quickly growing problem, but he said it all boils down to greed.

"If you looked at his financials, you'd see he didn't really need it from a money standpoint," Glaser said. "This guy was not hurting for cash by any means."

Jackson attended a lecture about methamphetamine by Fowler to a young farmers group in Dexter. "He was quite inquisitive about the anhydrous," Fowler said.

Authorities have not established how much anhydrous ammonia Jackson was allegedly buying. They will likely subpoena records from farm service distributors in the area, Fowler said.

Southeast Missourian staff writer Mike Wells contributed to this report.