Man charged with bringing knives, meth into Scott County Jail

A Charleston, Missouri, man is facing multiple felony charges after officers found methamphetamine and three knives on him as he was being booked into the Scott County Jail.

John Leon Groves, 30, was charged with delivery of a knife into a jail, delivery of a controlled substance into a jail, possession of a controlled substance and driving on a suspended or revoked license after he failed to disclose he had the contraband items, the Scott County Sheriff's Department reported Wednesday. He is in jail on a $2,500 cash-only

bond.

Groves was arrested shortly before 7 a.m. Saturday after a deputy responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle discovered Groves' driver's license was suspended and he had an active warrant from New Madrid County, Missouri, for a felony stealing charge, the department reported in a news release.

Chief deputy Kenneth Kinder of the Scott County Sheriff's Department said the deputy who arrested Groves patted him down for weapons, but Groves was wearing coveralls over his clothing that concealed the knives and drugs.

"You can't strip them down on the side of the road anymore, because people get a little upset when you do that," Kinder said in a telephone interview Wednesday.

Following department protocol, the deputy asked Groves whether he had any weapons or drugs and advised him if he did, he could face felony charges if he came into the jail with them, Kinder

said.

"If they say no, well, it's on them when they get inside," Kinder said.

He said Groves did not appear to be trying to smuggle the knives or methamphetamine into the jail for any inmates.

"He had it on him and just didn't want to tell us he had it," Kinder said.

Had Groves handed over the knives and methamphetamine when the deputy asked him about contraband, he would have faced only the original charge -- driving while revoked -- and a class C felony charge of possession of a controlled substance, Kinder said.

Because Groves came into the jail with the items, he now faces more serious charges.

"He would have saved himself some heartache, but that's why they're criminals. ... That's why we have a 120-bed jail, and it's full," Kinder said.

This is not the first time Groves has been accused of bringing contraband into a jail. Online court records show he was charged in April with delivering a weapon into a jail and delivering a controlled substance into a jail in Mississippi County, Missouri.

epriddy@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

Benton, MO